It's gonna be okay
by Hope July
Summary: Emma is scared. She doesn't know what to do about what she has found out. And telling Killian about it terrifies her. How is he going to react? Is he going to leave her too? Post Underworld, the story of Emma's pregnancy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Here I come with the first chapter of this fiction. This is a translation from a fanfiction I wrote in french, and the story is 17 chapters long. It's a really fluffy story with a lot of CaptainSwan fluff and almost no angst (almost because there are a few chapters toward the end that are a bit harder). I hope you'll like it! I will try to post every friday. English is not my native language, so if I made mistake (and I probably did) don't be scared to tell me! I'm here to learn ;)**

 **I started writing this story before the season 5B was over, so there is a few things that are different from the actual show : Zelena is still in Oz and Belle isn't pregnant. The story takes place nine weeks after the characters came back from the Underworld, and the land of Untold Stories is not in Storybrooke.**

 **Anyway, enjoy! :)**

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I was standing on Main Street, right in front of Granny's, for a few minutes already but I didn't seem brave enough to gather enough strength and go inside the dinner. I knew it was stupid, but I was so scared. I had faced so many dangers since Henry had found me four years ago, I had fought against ogres, villains, hell I had even fought against the darkness when I had been under the Dark One curse, and yet, I wasn't able to cross the door and join Killian with whom I was supposed to have lunch. I knew he was already there, I could see him looking around him through the window, probably wondering why I was so late but, luckily, he hadn't seen me yet.

I sighted, removed the wrinkles from my t-shirt with my palm, prepared to make a step forward but changed my mind at the last minute. I grunted, frustrated, aware of how stupid my behavior was. For my defense, I had some very important news to announce to Hook, and I had no idea how to tell him what was happening. Given my past, it was a pretty normal reaction. I was mostly afraid of how he would react, and I was so scared he would give up on me and I would find myself alone once again. I'd said I would meet him at Granny's because the presence of other people reassured me, but the more I was thinking about it, the more I was convinced that it was a mistake and I should have met him in a more intimate place. We had moved in the house he had chosen for us in Camelot so we could finally live together, the both of us and Henry when he was not sleeping at Regina's, so we could have more intimacy. All things considered, I should have said everything there. It was our place and, at least, if he was going to get mad, I wouldn't have looked bad in front of all the clients that were eating inside the diner.

I shook my head and sighted once again. I had to go into the diner eventually, I couldn't let him wait much longer and he would end up noticing I was staying outside like an idiot anyway, too afraid to go inside and face him. I closed my eyes for a bit, trying to concentrate, and made a first step forward, then a second. I ended up crossing the door with somewhat uncertain steps, ringing the bell on my way in.

Killian immediately turned to face me and a smile appeared on his face. I tried to smile back but failed miserably and felt a sob obstructing my throat as I was thinking about the fact that his smile was probably going to disappear very soon. I decided to ignore it and walked toward him, sitting in the booth to face him, carefully avoiding his gaze in order not to start crying.

"I was wondering where you were. I ordered that for you." He said, sticking out his chin to show me a cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon that was laying on the table in front of me.

I put my hands around the mug and sighted once more, discouraged. How could I be able to tell what was going on to the man I loved?

"Swan, you okay?" He asked, gazing at me with a suspicious look.

I nodded, unable to answer because of the lump in my throat, and it profoundly annoyed me. He didn't seem satisfied with my answer and carried on asking :

"No, you're not. What's going on?"

I had planned to wait a bit before telling him everything but, all things considered, it was better if I said it right away. It would take a weight off my shoulder as I would know what he was thinking about the situation. I therefore looked up to meet his stare and said in somewhat broken voice :

"I found out why I've been sick these past few days."

"Good!" He said with a gentle smile. "You're feeling unwell for a while, now. What's happening?"

I opened my mouth to confess everything, knowing it would be better to tell him right away without beating around the bush, but I couldn't make a sound. I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to focus. He realized something was wrong, and placed his right hand on mine, saying :

"Is it so bad?"

I didn't answer anything, but opened up my eyes again in order to see him. He was looking at me and seemed quite worried, but he smiled and said gently :

"You know you can tell me anything, love. Whatever it is, I'll be there for you."

Comforted by his words, I took a deep breath and said very quickly in order not to back off again :

"I'm pregnant."

He kept silence for a long time, looking utterly surprised. He didn't let go of my hand, he didn't move a muscles, he was just looking at me, only his chest moving at the fast pace of his breathing witnessing he hadn't turned into a statue. I didn't know how to react to that. I had prepared myself for howls, accusations because it was my fault, I was the one who had forgot to take my birth control because of everything that had happened recently, but I wasn't expecting him to be weirdly speechless. It's only after a long, long time that he ended up saying in disbelief :

"What?"

"I'm pregnant." I repeated in a low voice, surprised by the fact I had managed to say this terrifying sentence a second time.

I suddenly let go of my hand, as if he had just been burned, still staring at me with a strange look on his face. Only one second after his reaction, I felt my eyes starting to filled in with tears, and I looked up to the ceiling to avoid bursting out crying. I obviously wasn't expecting cries of joy, but it was what I had been afraid would happen, and I was so scared I would end up alone once again. I was alone during my first pregnancy, I didn't know how I would be able to overcome the loss of the man I loved because of the second one.

"Is it… mine?" Hook said, suddenly speaking again.

"No, it's the Pope's." I replied, hiding my distress behind a wall of sarcasms. "Of course it's yours, Killian, who else could be the dad, tell me?"

"But… How?" He asked, looking confused.

He didn't get mad, but his words were divulging his real thoughts. I felt like I was going to start crying, and I didn't want to release the tears in front of him. It was my own fault, after all, I'd had to be more careful with my birth control pills. And now, I was alone again. I was so fucking stupid.

I hastily got up and almost ran towards the door. I had to get out of the dinner, staying next to him was way too painful. I couldn't believe I had really lost him, and I had no one to blame but myself. Before slamming the door behind me, I heard Killian screaming :

"Swan, what are you doing? Emma…!"

I moved forward on the dinner's patio, hoping to escape from this horrifying situation, but he was quicker than me. He crossed the door right after me and yelled :

"Emma, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

He didn't take long to catch up with me and grabbed my wrist, forcing me to turn back and face him. I wasn't thinking about resisting because I knew by the tone of his voice that he was going to insist on talking to me, probably to blame me for everything that was going on. But when I faced him, I was surprised to see that he didn't look mad at all. On the contrary, he seemed completely lost, and was looking at me with a questioning look :

"Where are you going? You can't tell me you're pregnant and then run away without a word like that!"

I wiped off a tear that had escaped from my eye and was streaming down my face and answered vehemently :

"I'm sorry, okay? I know it's all my fault. And I also know you don't wanna see me anymore, so I'm making things easy for you. I'm pregnant, and I'm gonna be left alone once again. I always ruin everything. I'm such an idiot..."

"Be left alone once again?" Killian repeated, looking deeply surprised by my words.

"Yeah, I mean we've never talked about having kids. This is all my fault, I can only blame myself for this. You're gonna leave me, like Neal did, like my parents did, it always ends like that anyway. I should be used to it by now..."

"I don't intend to leave you, Emma..." he said in a deep voice, looking at me with a piercing look.

I was so surprised by his words that I startled, and he let go of my wrist. My hand fell back along my side, but I didn't mind it. I didn't understand what he was saying, he wasn't gonning to leave me?

"I'm… I'm sorry?" I stuttered, unable to say something logical.

"After all we've been through to stay together, you really think I'm gonna leave you now that you are with child? Who do you think I am, Swan?"

"But… your reaction?" I asked in a high-pitched voice.

I was so surprised by his words. He didn't want to leave me alone? He wanted to support me? I didn't know what to think anymore, and I waited for an explication, anything that would tell me how I had to react to this.

"I'm just surprised. But that doesn't mean I'm not happy, and that certainly doesn't mean I'm gonna leave you..."

"Happy?" I repeated, confused, without realizing what was happening, without realizing he was saying that he wanted to start a family with me.

"Emma, I know we've never talked about this, but this is a perfect timing. We have our own house now. Do you really think I'm gonna leave our child fatherless?"

"Our child?" I repeated once again, as if I was trying to make sure that what he was saying was real.

"Bloody hell, Em', how could you think otherwise?" he said, rolling his eyes even he seemed happier and happier by the minute. "We love each other, right? How could I leave you alone, then?" He asked when I had slowly nodded.

The words he had just pronounced finally made their way up to my brain. He wasn't gonna leave me. I wasn't gonna be left alone once again. He was gonna be there during my pregnancy and we were gonna raise this kid together. A deep happiness suddenly filled me entirely, not only because everything was going to be okay, but also because I was so, so glad we were gonna have a baby. I had discovered the news the same morning and, too scared because I thought Killian was going to react badly, I hadn't had the time to be happy about it. I looked up to meet his deep blue eyes and, deeply relieved, I threw myself into his arms.

He pulled me into a thigh embrace. It was so good to feel him against me, to feel his strong arms wrapped around my body, to smell his comforting fragrance of leather and sea. I could swear he was smiling as he was saying :

"How could you believe such a thing? I will never ever leave you. I love you way too much for that."

"Thanks." I simply whispered, without really answering him. "I love you too."

We stayed cuddled into each others arms for a very long time, not considering the people in the street that were starting to stare at us. He ended up pulling away from me, but he took my hand and intertwined our fingers together before saying in a gentle voice :

"Come on, let's get something to eat. We'll bring everything home, and you'll tell me everything I need to know about the pregnancy, okay?"

I nodded and smiled back as he was dragging me toward the dinner, our hands still linked together. I wasn't realizing that I was smiling as I saw him order two cheeseburgers to Granny. He looked so happy and obvisoult wanted to keep any skin-to-skin contact with me. While our friend was heading for the kitchen, he turned back to face me, looking suddenly worried :

"Wait a minute, you can eat that kind of stuff, right?"

"You do know I'm allowed to eat, don't you? I'm not gonna spend nine months eating only salads, I'm telling you" I answered while laughing a bit.

"Pardon me if I don't have a lot of experience about pregnancies. I'm reminding you that this is my first time."

He was faking an outraged look, and I busted out laughing. I wasn't excepting that amount of laugh and joy when I had come to see him. I had imagined howls, cries, sadness, but I had never thought about the fact he would have accepted my pregnancy that easily. Hell, he even looked so happy about becoming a dad, and he wanted to talk about all the details with me while eating a burger. It seemed so unlikely it felt like a dream. I gazed at him while he was looking towards the kitchen, his hook mechanically tapping against the counter. I wanted to make sure that everything was indeed real, that I wasn't dreaming. I must have stared at him for a long time without realizing it, because he ended up turning towards him with a big smile to say :

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great, it's just..."

I didn't finish my sentence, not knowing what I wanted to say or how to describe what I was feeling. It didn't seem to bother him because a big smile suddenly appeared on his face. I didn't understand what was going on at first, but he said, shaking his head in disbelief :

"You know what, love?"

"What?" I asked, curious to know what was putting him in such a good mood.

"The more I think about it, the happier I am"

And before I had the chance to say anything about this sudden statement, he grabbed me by my waist and pressed his lips against mine. Our kiss lasted for a long, long time and he was holding me so tight that he actually lifted me up from the ground. I laughed through our kiss, lifting my leg up, happier than I had been for a long time. I would have wanted to stay forever in his arms, but we were suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice, and Killian put me back on the floor.

"You think I want to see you smooching while I'm eating?"

"Regina!" Robin's voice immediately shouted, but he seemed to be laughing at the same time.

We turned to face Regina, who was sitting at a table in the back of the diner and was looking at us with an annoyed look on her face. Robin, as I had guessed, was laughing silently and was staring at us.

"We have a good reason to do it, you know" Killian teased, laughing as well.

"I don't wanna know about it." Regina muttered, rolling her eyes.

Hook turned to face me, still smiling, and whispered so no one else could hear us :

"You wanna tell everyone now?"

"No, we can tell them later. I just… I wanna keep it between us for a few hours, if it's okay." I said, smiling somewhat shyly at him.

"As you wish, princess" He winked, and I laughed, deeply happy.

Granny eventually came back with our order, and Killian let go of my hand to take the paper bag that was containing our meal. He wrapped his left arm around my shoulders and said, looking at Regina and Robin :

"Don't worry, Regina, you can now eat in peace. We're going to kiss somewhere else."

I heard my friend grunting behind my back as we where leaving the restaurant, laughing because of Regina's reaction

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"Let's sum up" Killian suggested, as he was looking a bit lost by all the information I had just given him. "You're nine weeks pregnant, right?"

"Right." I nodded patiently, aware of how sudden all of this was for him.

"you got pregnant when…?" He asked, looking a bit confused.

"When we came back from the Underworld, yeah." I said, gazing at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Yeah, that was a great night" He answered after a brief silence, smirking, looking pretty proud of himself.

"Very clever." I replied, shaking my head, but I couldn't help myself but smile because of his voluntary childish behavior.

We were both settled on our bed, facing each other, left overs from our meal laying on the ground next to us. I had just told him everything I knew about my pregnancy and how things were going to go. He had listened to me carefully and was trying to put the puzzles back together to be sure he was fully understanding the situation. I moved to sit crossed-legged, and he immediately put his hand on my knee, looking deeply worried :

"Is something wrong, love?"

"I'm just moving, Killian." I said, laughing a bit because of his concerned look. "Please tell me you're not gonna be like that during the entire pregnancy?" I teased kindly.

"Hey, this is an all new situation for me." He defended himself with half a smile on his face. "Now that you're with child, I wanna make sure you take care of yourself and everything is fine with you."

"Okay, but to be clear, I'm pregnant, not sick. I can still move without risking anything. You're reassured?"

He shook his head, looking a bit amused, but he lost his smile quite quiclky and I could tell he was thinking about something. He ended up saying, twitching his lips a bit :

"You don't look like you're pregnant..."

"I'm taking that as a compliment." I replied, raising an eyebrow at him, not really knowing where he was going with this sentence.

"No, I mean, shouldn't it be at least a bit noticeable by now?" He said without paying attention to my teasing.

"It depends, you know. The fact that I'm not showing yet doesn't mean there's a problem. You shouldn't worry about it, I'm telling you."

He nodded and smiled. I was so happy to be having this conversation with him. We were gonna have a family. A little baby was soon going to be joining our home. And he looked so damn glad about it. I could tell he was gonna be an amazing dad. As I was leaning toward him to kiss him, I heard a key entering the front door, and people coming into the house. I immediately stopped, wanting to know more about what was happening downstairs.

"Emma?" My mom's voice resonated not long after.

I had asked my parents, Henry and Regina to come over so we could tell them what was happening. I had given my parents a key in case there was an emergency, but it looked like they didn't mind using it for less important things. I quickly got off the bed and, followed by Killian, I opened the door's room and went down the stairs to find the guests waiting for us in the living room. Looking more carefully at them, I realized with surprise that they were looking kind of worried.

« Is everything okay?" I asked, suddenly concerned because of their behavior.

"You wanted to see us?" My mom answered without paying attention to my question.

I didn't answer right away and looked around me, a bit confused. I gazed at Killian, who shrugged to tell me he didn't know more about what was going on than I did.

"What's wrong?" I asked carefully, worried about the fact that something bad had happened again.

"You tell us." My dad answered.

"What?" I replied, utterly confused by the situation

"Don't you have bad news for us?" My dad said, looking deeply confused as well. "When you call us like that, it's always because there is a problem of some sort."

Suddenly realizing why they were acting that way, I burst out laughing while my family was still looking at me with pure incomprehension. I looked at Killian to see him smile as well, and answered to comfort those I loved :

"Don't worry, everything's fine. It's more than fine, actually. We have some good news."

"You now, it's been a long time since I've erased the phrase _good news_ from my vocabulary." Regina stated rather judiciously.

"Well, maybe it's time to reinstate it." I replied with a smile.

I took a deep breath, hoping that my family would be happy for us. I knew it was sudden and I was a little worried that Henry would have felt weird about the idea of having a sibling, but I wasn't scared anymore. That's why I had still a big smile on my face as I was saying :

"I'm pregnant."

There was a brief silence during which my family was digesting the information and my mom was the first one to react. She quite literally jumped toward me to take me into her arms, looking overexcited. I was a little surprised, but I burst out laughing and wrapped my arms around her.

"Oh my god, Emma, that's wonderful!" She said, looking deeply happy for me.

I looked up to see that my dad was looking quite suspiciously at Killian. I smiled, amused by his reaction. As I was pulling away from my mother, Killian said, putting his arms over his head in order to show his innocence.

"Don't look at me like that, I don't intend to let her down."

"You better." My dad answered, still looking at Killian as if he was trying to make sure he wasn't gonna do something bad.

But he ended up walking towards me to hug me, and I felt him smile as he was saying :

"Congratulations, Emma. I'm so happy for you."

"There's gonna be a new baby in the family?" Henry suddenly asked as I was stepping away from my dad.

"You're gonna be a big brother, kid." I answered, putting my hands on his shoulders, waiting to see if he was happy or not.

"That's pretty cool." He ended up saying, and I wrapped my arms around him, deeply happy to know that he was taking the news pretty well.

"Great, a new Charming, as if there weren't enough already." Regina intervened with a smile that was denying her words.

"Coming from you, I take that as congratulations. So thanks." I replied, smiling.

"So, tell us everything!" My mom shouted, looking overexcited. "How far are you into the pregnancy? How have you learned about it? When? Are you feeling well?"

"Woah, slow down." I laughed, amused by her excitement. "I'm gonna tell you everything, don't worry. But let's sit down first."

They obeyed without discussion, and I sat down on the couch while Killian was wrapping his arm around my shoulder to hold me close to him.

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 **Here we go, I hope you liked it! Don't hesitate to leave a review on your way out, I don't bite and I would love to know your opinion about this story! :)**

 **see you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello sailors!**

 **First of all, a big thank you for all your positive responses about this story. I'm so happy you seem to like it! Thanks a lot to everyone who followed and put this fic on favorite, and a special thanks to Skye-Blue 101 , Guest 1 and Guest 2 for their reviews! Your comments mean the world to me! :)  
**

 **I hope you'll like this chapter as well! It's a bit shorter, but it's full of fluff, so I hope you'll be happy with it. Enjoy! :)**

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"I have to admit, I find it quite relaxing not to have a crisis in this town for once. It's been a long, long time since we haven't been threatened by anything." Bell stated with a dazzling smile.

"Given the fact that I was one of the last villain in town, I'm pretty relieved myself, I'm telling you." I replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Emma!" My mom shouted as if I had said something wrong.

"What? That's true, you know! But you're right, Belle. It's good to be in peace for a bit."

We were sitting in a booth at Granny's, where Hook and I had thrown a small party with our closest friends to finally announce my pregnancy to everyone. I was 12 weeks pregnant, and we had thought it was about time we tell everyone about it. Except for Henry, my parents, Regina and Robin, no one knew why we had asked them to come, and I had to admit I quite liked to maintain the suspense.

My mom was rocking my brother, who was sleeping in her arms, and Bell was holding a glass of wine, looking suddenly lost in her thoughts. She had been horribly disappointed by Gold, once again, but she seemed to be getting back up after weeks spend in a state of shock. Regina had put a bracelet around the Dark One's wrist to stop him from using his magic and hurting somebody. He was hiding somewhere in town, trying to be discreet, to ashamed to have lost everything once again because of his love for power.

As for me, I was drinking hot cocoa with cinnamon and enjoying a molten chocolate cake. Since I had found out about my pregnancy, I was hungry all the time and was always craving for anything eatable. My sudden lust for food was probably stressed by the fact I had spend my first pregnancy in prison and I hadn't been allowed to eat what I wanted, literally spending 9 months starving, locked up in my cell. It made Killian laugh a lot, and he seemed happy to see me in such a good mood. He was always joking with me about the fact that food was probably my third true love, with Henry and him. But my desire for junk food didn't really please him, as he wanted our baby to have the best diet. However, he was always ending up giving me what I was asking for, because he just wanted to make me happy, and it was absolutely adorable.

I glanced at my father, Robin, Regina and Killian who were talking with animation in the corner of the diner. I thought to myself that a few years earlier, I would never ever have guessed I would soon be in a room with all the people I loved in order to announce my pregnancy. Now that I was thinking about it, I would never have imagined being hit by the Dark One curse either. Sometimes, life could take weird twists, but it was for the best, I knew it now.

I had focused back on my mom and Belle, who were still talking, but I wasn't really listening to them, lost in my thoughts. I suddenly felt a hand landing on my shoulder, and startled a bit. I turned back to face Killian and smiled at him as he moved to sit down next to Belle, on the seat that was facing me.

"I think it's time to tell them, don't you think?" He asked with a gentle smile. "People are getting a bit impatient."

"Let me guess : by _people_ , you mean Leroy, right?" I asked, laughing.

"I seriously wonder how you've guessed that." He replied, raising an eyebrow at me, making me laugh a bit harder. "You coming?"

I nodded and got up to follow him though the crowd. My friends looked like they were having a great time, and that pleased me a lot. Killian finally stopped in front of the counter and, in order to draw everyone's attention, he jumped on the bar. I looked up at him, surprised, before bursting out laughing. Granny immediately started to shout, looking deeply outraged by his behavior :

"What do you think you're doing? Have you been raised by wolfs?"

"By sailors, darling." He answered in a perfect innocent voice, while I was trying to hide my hilarity. "Believe me, it's worth it. Come on, love." He added, reaching out for my hand in order to help me get up next to him.

Since he had learned about my pregnancy, he was literally overprotecting with me, wanting to assist me in everything I was doing and grumbling every time I had to go to the station. I was pretending to find his behavior annoying but I was secretly thinking his reactions to be really sweets. As long as I could remember, I would never have imagined finding someone who cared about me the way he did. Until Henry went to found me in Boston, I was convinced that I would never find happiness. And I was there today, surrounded by dozens of people, loved, happy. I was sometimes wondering if it wasn't all a dream, if I wasn't going to wake up in my former apartment in Boston, alone and miserable. But when I was looking into my loved ones' eyes, I knew that all of that was real, and it made me happier than I had ever been in my entire life.

"Very well, everyone, your attention please!" He said once I had joined him on the counter, raising his voice a bit so our friends could hear him.

The background noise gradually went down and the guests turned to face us, some looking deeply confused by the fact we were both standing on the diner's bar.

"If we asked you to come over here today, it's because we have something to tell you." He resumed when he was assured he had everyone's attention.

"It's about time!" Leroy shouted, standing in the middle of the room, a glass of beer in his hand.

"Well, if you hadn't just said that, you would already have known why you're here." I replied, laughing a bit.

My comment made a few of our friends laugh as well, and Killian glanced at me, looking amused. When the quiet came back, he turned toward me and stared at me for a little while to imply that it was my turn to talk. I nodded and took a deep breath before saying with a big smile :

"What we wanted to say is that...I'm pregnant."

The room stayed silent for a few seconds before my friends started talking cheerfully all at the same time, and I couldn't understand a word they were saying. Over all the din, I finally heard Leroy's voice asking :

"It's the pirate's?"

"No, it's the Queen of England's." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Of course it's his, you idiot, or he wouldn't be next to me on this counter."

The conversations had hushed once again so my friends could hear our dialogue, and it's in a perfect quiet that Leroy replied :

"I could see that you had put on some weight."

I couldn't help myself but burst into laughing while my dad and Killian shouted at the exact same time :

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What?" He said, shrugging. "She's always in here, eating cheeseburgers. You can't be surprised I said that."

Still laughing quietly, I looked down to glance at my t-shirt and check he was only mocking me and my pregnancy wasn't noticeable yet. My stomach had already rounded out a bit and my jeans were starting to get too tights for me, but I was relieved to see that it wasn't obvious when I had clothes on.

When my laughter calmed down a bit, the congratulations arose from everywhere, making me a bit dizzy. I went down from the bar, caught by my friends' arms, who all wanted to hug me, congratulate me and make sure I was feeling all right. It was only twenty minutes later that I managed to find myself alone for a second. I went for it and got out of the diner. The cold wind of the night surprised me, and I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. I walked to find a chair on the empty patio, and literally collapsed on it, exhausted from all this agitation. I was hearing the muffled voices coming out of inside the diner, everybody looking deeply happy for us, but I was glad to be alone for a minute. All the excitement had destabilized me a bit and I was so tired because of the party and the late hour. I settled on the back of my seat, put both of my hands on my stomach, looked up to the sky and took some deep breaths, smiling at the stars as if they were responsible for my happiness.

I suddenly heard the door opening, and looked down to see who was coming to join me, but didn't recognize the person who was walking toward me right away. I straightened on my chair, putting my elbows on the table, finally meeting Killian's gaze and smiling at him.

"What's up, love? Running away from our friends?"

"You can't deny it's relaxing to be out of the crowd for a bit." I answered while Killian sat down on the empty chair next to me.

I was so glad he had joined me. I stared at him for a bit, and noticed his eyes were shinning with a spark of pure happiness. He was so happy that we were having a baby. He couldn't help himself but take me into his arms, or place his hand on my stomach, even if it was a little early to sense anything coming from the baby, who was still so tiny for now. I could tell he was going to be the greatest dad ever. He seemed to already love this kid so much, he was trying to bond with it, and it was a beautiful thing to witness.

"And you didn't invite me to join you?" He replied, looking falsely upset.

"I tried, but I couldn't find you in the crowd." I said with honesty, shrugging.

"I brought you this.' He smiled, placing a plate containing a peace of cheesecake in front of me.

"Bless you!" I shouted enthusiastically, smiling at him as I felt my stomach rumbling. "How did you now I'm having the biggest craving for cheesecake? I'm starving!"

I took the fork he was holding in his hand and dug into the pastry with an obvious pleasure. I took the time to swallow a bite of the cake before facing him again, and I noticed he was looking at me with a funny smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, curious.

"I knew you would like it." He answered with a little smirk.

"Stop mocking me!" I replied with a laugh. "It's not my fault, it's the baby's."

"I'm not mocking you, Swan." He answered with a gentle smile. "I'm just happy to see you like that."

"Like what?" I asked, a bit confused. 'To see me hungry?"

"No." He answered, laughing, before suddenly regaining his seriousness. "To see you happy."

His comment surprised me and I looked at him, my eyes wide open, before finally smiling from ear to ear. I loved him so much, and he had always the right words to move me. I dropped the fork on the table and approached him slowly in order to press my lips against his. We stayed for a long time snuggled into each others' arms, and he ended up pulling away a bit to look at me. He was staring at me with half a smile and teased me, an eyebrow raised at me with a mischievous look :

"If only I had known it would have this effect on you, I would have used this sentence way before now."

"You idiot." I laughed, cupping his face with my hand, smiling gently.

He smiled back and his hand made its way toward my stomach. He gently pressed his fingers against my belly-button, and I closed my eyes, enjoying his strokes. We were interrupted by the diner's door opening once again, and my dad's voice rang through the darkness :

"Emma? Hook? You're here?"

"Right there." I answered with a little sight as Hook's fingers were pulling away from my belly.

"We were looking for you! What are you doing out here? It's freezing!"

"We're coming." I simply replied without answering his question. "Give us a minute."

He obeyed without adding anything and stepped away, closing the door behind him. I sighted once again, a bit disappointed by how short our moment was. I was aware that going into the diner meant having to deal with all the excitement again, and I wasn't sure to be ready for that. I stretched a bit before getting up, and pointed a finger at Killian in a playfully bossy way :

"Don't you dare leave me again, this time. I need you now more than ever, I don't wanna be the only one to receive congratulations. Who knew accepting compliments would be so exhausting, though."

"I'm not letting you go." He replied with a smile because of what I had just said, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers together."Promise."

I looked up to meet his eyes and smiled at him, and he leant forward to press a kiss on my forehead. When he stepped back, he smiled once last time and dragged me into the dinner, never letting go of my hand.

* * *

 **that's it for today! The next chapter is about the first ultrasound! I hope you liked this part of the story, and I hope to see you in the comments section!**

 **Love you guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys!**

 **Thanks to Emilee Amethyst and Guest for their review. I'm glad you seem to like this story so far! Enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

"Wake up, Swan, it's time!" Killian's voice rang above my head.

I could say he was leaning forward to talk to me in a gentle way, but I didn't want to hear what he had to say. I was still way too tired to have a conversation, or even to get out of bed.

"Mmm." I grunted as an answer, turning to avoid his voice, covering up my head with my blanket to create myself a little cocoon and hide in it.

I had heard him waking up a while before and going around the house, sharing laughter with Henry, who was staying at our place this week. But I hadn't had the courage to get up as well, staying in a light sleep, buried under my blankets. I knew he had waited as long as he could before waking me up, wanting to let me rest a bit, but I was still so exhausted. It was strange, because I had slept like a baby and for longer than usual, but my pregnancy had to do something with my exhaustion, I knew it.

"Rise and shine, darling!" He added with a laugh.

"It's too early." I replied in a rough voice, burying my face into my pillow.

"It's 9 a.m., it's really not that early, you know. And if you don't hurry up a bit, we are going to be late for the ultrasound."

I felt him sitting down on the bed next to me and he started to run his hand up and down my spine in a very pleasant way. His strokes gave me the shiver, and I relaxed a bit, but didn't turn to face him yet.

The first ultrasound was taking place this morning, and now that Hook had understood what it was about, he was overexcited about seeing the baby for the first time. I was very happy as well, of course, but I was so tired and I would have loved to go back to sleep for a little bit.

"Why are you in such a good mood anyway ?" I muttered with a light sight. "It's the morning, it should be illegal."

"I made scrambled eggs for breakfast." He laughed. "And I went to Granny's to buy some bacon. Does that motivate you to get up, now?"

I smiled into the pillow. Who could have guessed he was such a good cook? While I was mostly eating outside of the house because cooking wasn't my strong suit, he loved to make dinner, and he was really good at it, I had to admit it. He had discovered this hobby since he had came back from the underworld, and he had never failed one meal. So hearing him talking about breakfast was truly improving my mood.

"It depends." I answered, interested by his proposition. "Can I add toasts to that?"

"Of course you can." He replied. "I already thought about that, I know you, love. They are waiting for you on the breakfast table."

"I can grant you something." I said, finally rolling on my back to look at him. "You know how to talk to a woman."

He smiled, looking a bit amused, and I bounced back to sit crossed-legged on the bed, stretching in order to chase away my tiredness. I smiled back at Killian, who was staring at me as if he was trying to quietly tell me to move a bit faster. I shook my head, got off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom, saying :

"Don't look at me like that! I hurry up, I promise!"

Fifteen minutes later, filled with several sights of frustration because I had realized I had to go buy new jeans as mine were getting really too tights for me, I headed for the kitchen, still feeling a bit tired. I greeted Henry with a hug and a smile before sitting down on the chair facing Killian, yawning, wishing I was still sleeping in my bed.

"We had trouble waking up?" Henry teased as I was taking a toast to put it next to my eggs and my bacon.

"Don't you dare mock me." I replied, pointing my fork toward him in a falsely threatening way, making him laugh a bit. "I'm so tired, I swear. If only I could drink some coffee..."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna have to fight me for that." Killian replied, raising an eyebrow at me. "Caffeine is bad for the baby."

"Maybe you shouldn't have told him that." Henry said, glancing at me, trying to hide his smile.

"My thoughts exactly." I answered, looking at Killian with my best innocent smile.

"I would have learned it eventually. Did you know that your mother asked to talk to me in private the other day, only to tell me all the things I should be careful about during the pregnancy?"

"Seriously?" I added in disbelief. "I'm so sorry about that. It's like she doesn't even trust me..."

"Well, she's right." Killian replied, glancing at me in an almost severe way. "You're doing way to many dangerous things. If it wasn't for me, you would be running around the town, drinking coffee and eating junk food all day. If only you could stop going to the station..."

I rolled my eyes, taking a bite of my eggs. He was way too worried for me, and he didn't believe me when I was saying that I was still allowed to do normal stuffs. I knew he wanted to protect me and the baby, but I could take care of myself, and his over protection was starting to annoy me a little bit.

"I'm not made out of glass, Killian. I'm not gonna stop living for nine months just because I'm pregnant."

"I'm not asking you to stop living, just to be more careful..."

"More careful about what?" I asked, shaking my head. "I'm great! I'm pregnant, not sick."

"Isn't it too early to fight?" Henry intervened, trying to hide his bursts of laughter.

"Eat and be quiet, you." I joked, and he almost choked as he couldn't stop laughing.

I suddenly saw Killian glancing quickly at the kitchen's clock, and opened my mouth to ask him what was going on and why he was looking so worried. But I didn't have the time to say anything as he said hastily with a distraught look on his face. :

"We have to go. Now. Or we're gonna be very late."

"I know you're excited about seeing the baby, but you're aware that Whale isn't going to disappeared if we are five minutes late, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Emma!" He shouted with a disapproving look, getting up to get ready and leave.

"Okay." I surrounded, looking at my still half-full plate with a disappointed look. "Can I at least finish my breakfast, first?"

"If you had got up earlier, you would have had the time to finish eating." He replied, bursting with the desire to go.

"Life forces us to make cruel choices." I joked before realizing he wasn't kidding at all.

I sighted, swallowed five slices of bacon in a record speed, took a toast in my hand and got up, smiling at Killian, who was looking at me and seemed a bit annoyed by my casual behavior.

"Okay, kid." I said to Henry. "We're going, or Hook is gonna kill me. Don't do anything stupid, be careful, be good… well I think I said it enough times already, so you know what I mean."

"Be good too!" He replied while, the toast stuck between my teeth in order to free both of my hands, I was putting on my red leather jacket and opening the door.

I laughed and waved at my son, going outside as Killian was glancing at my back with a bit of impatience.

* * *

"See? We're not late at all." I said, settled on a chair in the hospital's waiting room while Killian was repeatedly glancing at the office's door to see if Whale was appearing.

"I wanted to make sure..."

"He's the one who's late!" I cut him off without paying attention to his words.

Sitting arms-crossed on my chair, I was a bit annoyed by the doctor's delay. I was thinking that I could have finished to eat, and my stomach that was rumbling was starting to really bug me.

"Calm down, getting annoyed isn't useful, you know." He replied, glancing at me with half a smile.

"I'm not getting annoyed, I'm just saying that if you hadn't pushed me to hurry because you were scared of being late, I would have been able to finish my breakfast."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot." He said, putting his hand on his forehead in a theatrical way. "You should never part a pregnant lady from her food."

"Did my mom say that?" I asked coldly, a bit upset by his mockery.

"I didn't need her to warn me about it. I learned enough by living with you."

I couldn't help myself but laugh a bit, but I pulled myself together quite quickly and glanced at him with an incensed look.

"See? I made you laugh." He said with a little smirk, raising an eyebrow at me, looking particularly proud of himself.

"I can assure you that this moment of weakness will never repeat itself." I replied, but the smile I wasn't able to hide was refuting my words.

The door finally opened as I was finishing my sentence, and Whale appeared and asked us to come into the examination room.

"Sorry for the delay."

"Not a problem." Killian grumbled as he entered the room, but I intercepted the annoyed look he gave the doctor behind his back.

I hid my smile behind my hand and sat down on one of the chair facing the doctor's deck.

"So, Emma." He started, settling down in front of us. "How is it going? Nothing specific to report? Everything's fine?"

"I'm great!" I said with a smile. "I don't have nausea anymore, and I'm feeling really good."

"And she eats. Like a lot." Hook intervened, looking at me with a charming smile.

I elbowed him in the ribs as a revenge, and he shut up immediately, surprised by my reaction. I wasn't feeling truly upset because of his word, but he had seen it coming.

"It's perfectly normal to have cravings during the pregnancy." Whale explained, laughing because of my reaction. "You're 13 weeks pregnant, right?"

I nodded and intercepted Killian glancing discreetly at me, looking a bit worried, as if he was wondering if I was truly upset by his teasing. I answered quietly with a smile, and he seemed instantly reassured.

"If everything is fine for you, we're gonna start the ultrasound now, okay?"

I got up and lied down as comfortably as I could on the examination table while Hook sat down on a stool next to me. He took my hand and intertwined our fingers together, smiling at me in an excited but also a bit nervous way. The doctor lifted up my shirt, showing my slightly rounded out belly. He put the ultrasound gel right underneath by belly-button, and I startled a little bit because of its cold. I felt Killian tensing up on my side, and he whispered so Whale couldn't hear him :

"Is it hurting you?"

"No, babe, don't worry." I answered in a low voice, moved my the fact he was worrying about my well-being. "It's just a little cold, that's all."

I turned back to look at Whale again as he was beginning the test. I placed my arm underneath my head in order to raise it up a bit and be able to look at the screen more easily.

"And… That's your baby." He said, but I barely heard him, too focused on the image that had appeared on the screen.

I felt Hook's hand squeeze mine a little bit more, and I smiled, quickly glancing at him. He was looking at the screen, his lips parted, his eyes wide opened, as if he couldn't believe in the reality of what he was seeing. I had to admit I was myself quite amazed. I hadn't enjoyed my last pregnancy because of the fact I was still a teenager and the dad had just left me to rot in prison, and I hadn't expected this explosion of joy I had just felt underneath my heart. My eyes filled in with tears of joy and I looked up to the ceiling to stop me from crying. I was living a beautiful moment, and I didn't want to loose one single seconds of it because of tears.

"It's in perfect shape." Whale said after a moment of silence.

None of us answered, too busy staring at the screen to burn this image into our memory. After another minute, Whale stopped the examination and the image disappeared from the screen. I felt a little pinch of disappointment in my chest, I would have wanted this moment to be longer, but I got up without trying to protest and walked toward Whale's desk to finish the appointment.

When we got out of the hospital ten minutes later, Hook was still looking totally amazed by what he had just seen. He was holding the picture of our baby the doctor had given us in his hand and he was cyclically glancing at it as if he was trying to convince himself that everything was real.

"You okay?"I asked, stopping my steps to look at him in the eyes with a little smile.

"Yeah, It's just… It feels unreal, you know?"

"I know." I said with a teasing smile, trying to give him his casualness back. "It feels unreal for me too. I would never ever have thought I would have a baby with a pirate."

He looked at me in a falsely upset way, and I burst out laughing. He then put the picture into his pocket and took my hand with a gentle smile.

"You wanna go to Granny's? You could finish your breakfast there." He asked, rubbing his thumb against my hand.

"I'd love too! Let me just tell Henry we won't be home until later." I said, letting go of his hand to take my cellphone which I had placed in my pocket.

I gasped when I saw the dozens of missed call I had received from my mom's phone, and looked up to meet Killian's eyes, suddenly worried. It could only mean one thing : something bad was happening in the town. Again.

"Mary-Margaret tried to call me several times. I hope everything is okay." I said hastily, taping her number on my keyboard to call her back in a somewhat shaking hand.

I was so nervous that I was breathing quite heavily while the phone was ringing. Killian took my hand to calm me down and whispered gently :

"I'm sure everything is fine, love. Wait to know what'ss happening before getting worry, okay?"

I fortunately didn't have to wait long before my mom picked the phone up, and I started talking very quickly :

"Mom, everything's okay? What's happening, why did you try to call me so many times? You need me to come over?"

"Everything's great!" She answered in an overexcited way, and I felt quite confused for a minute.

I glanced at Killian with incomprehension, and he answered with a shrug, not knowing what was happening either. I put my phone on speakerphone mode so he could hear our conversation as well.

"What the hell is going on?" I added, frowning in confusion.

"Nothing! I just wanted to know how the ultrasound went..."

"Are you kidding me?!" I shouted while Killian burst out laughing next to me. "You called me so many time for _that_? You couldn't wait for me to call you back? I thought something bad was happening!"

"Why did you think such a thing?"she said, sounding surprised, not understanding why I was getting so angry at her.

"Because there is always something bad happening when you call me!" I said, running a hand through my hair with fatigue.

"But Emma, everything is great! I just wanna know if the baby is okay." She added, obviously unaware of the scare I had just had. "You wanna come to the apartment to tell us everything?"

"I'm going to Granny's with Killian. Meet us there."

And I hung up without waiting for an answer. Killian was trying to hide his smile and I looked at him, annoyed. Far from being frightened, he said :

"See? I told you everything was okay."

"I can't believe she did that! She could have thought about how scared I was going to be, don't you think?" I shouted nervously, without paying attention to his previous words

"Calm down, Swan." Killian said, regaining seriousness because of my reaction. "She didn't have to do that, but it's not that bad. She just cares about you, you know? Come on, let's go. You're in a bad mood because you're hungry."

I glanced at him but couldn't kept myself from laughing because of his teasing. He looked at me with a charming smile, looking pretty proud of himself, and took my hand to walk away from the hospital.

* * *

 **That's it for today, I hope you liked it! In the next chapter, a character we haven't seen in the show for a while is coming back. What's your guess?**

 **See you next week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to Emilee Amethyst for the review (which made me laugh really hard because where is the lie, tho? xD)**

* * *

"Hook!" I shouted, rolling my eyes in an irritated way. "Will you stop worrying for a minute, there ? Let me do my job, for god's sake!"

"But it's too dangerous!" He protested for the hundredth time, standing in front of the station's door so I couldn't go outside.

"There's nothing dangerous about working! I just drive around the town, mostly to make sure Leroy isn't hitting anyone, nothing more than that. Sometimes, I even go to Granny's to buy a hot cocoa and a doughnut. You're gonna tell me you're scared I burn myself while driving, now?"

"No, I'm not scared of that." He frowned. "But now that you're talking about this habit, I don't think driving one handed is safe."

"Says the man with a hook for a left hand." I scoffed, scowling at him.

"That's a low blow, Swan." He grumbled, looking upset by my words.

"Well, you had it coming." I replied, smiling in an innocent way.

At that exact same moment, my ring tone started playing. I took my phone in my hand, a bit annoyed by our argument. His over protection was starting to get really heavy. I just wanted to live normally, and he didn't want to understand the fact that I was felling great.

"This conversation isn't over." He said, pointing his hook at me.

"I could have guessed that." I muttered before picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Emma?" My dad's voice answered.

"What's happening?" I asked, glancing at Killian who seemed to have put his anger aside to listen to our conversation.

"I don't know exactly, but I got a phone call from someone saying that something weird was happening on the beach."

"I'm coming right away." I said

I hung up the phone and walked toward the exit that Killian had unconsciously freed when he had approached me to listen to the phone call. I crossed the door and amenably avoided him when he tried to hold me back. I headed for my car, laughing a bit, while he was following me, objecting about my behavior. Right before entering the yellow bug, I said with a smirk :

"You keep on moaning or you're coming with me?"

"Can't I do both?" He said, glancing at me, still looking a bit mad.

"That's not a possible solution."

I sat down behind the wheel and wasn't surprised when I saw him opening the door and settling on the passenger seat, crossed-arms. I started driving without saying a word and nobody talked for a little while. After a few minutes, wanting to break the tension, I ended up saying :

"You're really quiet. You're still upset about the hook thing?"

"Seriously, Emma." He said without smiling a bit. "I don't want you to take risks while you could..."

"Ok, Killian, listen to me very carefully." I cut him off, leaving the sight of the road for a second to look at him in the eyes. "I know you're not doing that to annoy me and you're actually worried, and I get that, really. You're scared that something happens to the baby. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself and I know what's right for me or not. I've spent my first pregnancy in jail, and even if the conditions weren't that great, Henry is more than fine today. I don't intend to stop living just because I'm pregnant. My life doesn't freeze for nine months. Believe me, if I feel the tiniest danger, I will back off. I want the baby to be fine as much as you do."

I glanced at him once again, and saw that he was quite moved by my declaration. He seemed to think for a second before saying slowly :

"Okay, Swan. I trust you."

"Happy to hear that." I said, parking the car right in front of the beach.

"But trust me on this : If I see that the situation is dangerous down there and you don't do anything to avoid it, I will come get you no matter what you say."

"I know I can count on you for that." I answered with a smile before going out of the car.

He imitated me and we walked on the beach, which was quite wet because of the rain. I saw a mob a bit further, as if something was happening, but there were so many people that I couldn't see what they were looking at. I gazed at Killian, more and more confused :

"What the hell is going on?"

He shrugged and we quickly headed towards the crowd to finally understand what was happening and why people seemed so excited about it.

Once arrived, stuck by the crowd that was obstructing the view, I decided to make my way across the mob, rushing a few people in the process. Leroy started to insult me quite violently, and I was looking at him to reply something when I heard my name pronounced in a weirdly familiar way. I immediately turned back and my mouth fell wide open, too surprised to say anything, the words stuck into my throat. After a while, I finally found myself able to speak again, and whispered in disbelief :

"Elsa?"

My friend wrapped her arms around me right after I said her name, and glancing behind her shoulder, I talked again, utterly lost :

"Anna? You're here too? What the hell are you two doing here?" I stuttered, pulling away from my friend to look at her, wondering if all of this was real or if I was dreaming.

I saw my dad emerge in front of me, and he glanced at me, looking as surprised as I was by this unexpected situation. Seeing that I didn't know what was happening either, he turned back to face the crowd and yelled above the din :

"Okay, everyone, the show is over! Go back home. Go back, I said!" He insisted, annoyed by the rebuffs of some of the citizens.

I was still staring at Elsa and I couldn't believe what I was experiencing. When she had gone to join her kingdom, it seemed like an eternity ago, I had thought I would never see her again. It had saddened me at the time, because I felt like she was the only person with Killian to _really_ get me. But now, she was staying in front of me, a huge smile on her face, and I ended up saying again, still stammering a little:

"Did something happen in Arendelle? Something bad? Why are you here?"

I was so scared her and Anna were in troubles again. I didn't want them to suffer, but they were looking quite happy, and I didn't understand what they were doing in Storybrooke. In my head, their presence was hiding something, and I was scared it was something bad.

"Everything's fine!" Elsa answered, shaking her head, and I felt completely lost. 'Here's the thing : A few months ago, an old woman who was living in Arendelle died, and, as a legacy, she willed us the only two magic beans existing in the kingdom. No one knew she had them, and she kept the secret during her all life to protect them from potential thieves. She didn't have any family left, and she gave them to us to prove us her loyalty. I was planning on keeping them safe in case we had an emergency and we had to open a portal. But I eventually realized I would probably never use them. So we decided to come here..."

"Seriously?!" I shouted, cutting her off in the process, running a hand through my hair with anger because I really thought something bad had happened. "And you couldn't warn me you were coming before now?"

"We can't really..." Anna started before I interrupted her.

"You scared the hell out of me!"

"Swan, calm down..." Killian said in a gentle voice, putting a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

"I'm so sorry we've scared you, Emma." Elsa resumed, looking a bit taken aback by my reaction. "I just wanted to come back because… well, because I was missing you."

I sighted sightly, not knowing how to react to her declaration. How could I stay mad at her after her words? The truth was that I was pretty happy she was there, and I answered in a softened way :

"I missed you too, Elsa. But for the love of god, don't ever do that to me again! I was so scared something bad had happened to you! Did you leave Arendelle without a ruler?"

"No, Kristoff stayed." Anna stated. "We needed someone there in case there was a problem."

I sighted once again and turned back to see my dad, who was moving off the beach with some of the citizens. I took the time to calm down and clear my head. I took some deep breath, and eventually turned back again to look at my friends.

"You really scared me, you know, but god, I'm so happy you're here! What's up in Arendelle?"

"Kristoff and I finally got married." Anna informed with a big smile.

"And everything's great." Elsa added, looking deeply happy. "And what about you? How are things, here? I can see a lot has changed for you since the last time we saw each other..."

"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised, not getting what she was trying to say.

"Well… You're pregnant." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I felt myself blushing a bit and looked down to my stomach, incredulous, before turning to look at Killian, who was trying to hide his laughter behind his hand. I honestly didn't realize my pregnancy was already noticeable. Of course, my belly had rounded out and I had had to buy new clothes because mine had got too tights, but I really thought people couldn't see it when I was wearing a sweater and a jacket.

"Is it that obvious?" I worried, glancing at Killian, who was still laughing because of my reaction.

"Yeah, it is." Anna said, shrugging. "Well, I mean, No. No, not at all, no." She tried to redeem herself after seeing my expression. "I mean, a little bit..."

"Yeah, it's quite noticeable, but you're glowing, Emma." Elsa said gently, taking both of my hands in hers. "And you're definitely pricklier than usual."

I looked at her in a falsely outraged way, but I ended up smiling somewhat shyly at her. I eventually said in order to fill in the quiet, even if I was still a bit confused by her words :

"You're planing on staying a while?"

"Not really. I don't want to leave the kingdom in Kristoff's hands for too long. "What?" She added, seeing that her sister was planning on objecting. "I'm not sure he could handle things if something had to happen. But we can stay for a few days, anyway."

"Great!" I said, smiling, for real this time. "Do you want me to call some people so we can all go to Granny's? I'm sure everyone will be thrilled to see you both again."

The sisters enthusiastically nodded and headed toward me car. I hold back a bit on purpose as they were walking, still a bit troubled by they words. The fact that my pregnancy was noticeable by anyone was a bit of a surprise for me. It didn't bother me that much (I mean, I was pregnant, I knew what to expect), but now that I was showing, I was scared people would start to treat me like a delicate little thing. When I was still able to hide my pregnancy, even if all the town already knew that I was expecting, people were still treating me like they did usually. But now that it was obvious, I was afraid of people starting to act like Killian and thinking that I had to rest and couldn't do my job anymore. Besides that, noticing that the pregnancy was progressing fast made me doubt about myself. Would I be a good mom? I already had Henry, obviously, but I had never raised a child before. It was new for me, and I was so scared , even if I had managed to bury this fear inside of me until the conversation I'd just had with my friend.

"You okay?" A voice started beside me, and a slightly started.

I turned back to face Killian who, if I was relying on his expression, had guessed that something was bugging me. I looked down on the sand and sighted for a long time before answering ;

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… Is my pregnancy really that obvious?" I asked, putting my hand on my stomach without really realizing it.

"As Elsa said, kinda." Hook said, smiling to reassure me. "But isn't that a good thing? It means the baby is fine, right? And to paraphrase her, you're absolutely glowing."

"Really?" I asked, a bit skeptic, raising an eyebrow at him. "If you're saying that to comfort me, don't forget I can tell when people are lying."

"Okay, go for it, analyze me and see if I'm lying." He laughed. "Swan, you're the most beautiful pregnant lady I've ever seen."

"Pregnant lady, huh?" I replied, realizing that he had managed to give me my smile back. "You didn't see that many in your life, did you?"

"I'm 200 years old, love, I've seen some, believe me. And if it's just that : Swan, you're the most stunning woman in the entire world."

I looked at him with half a smile, finally realizing that he was being honest. He laughed at my reaction and pulled me into a tight embrace, pressing a kiss on my forehead. I let him kiss me once again on the temple, my eyes closed, and stayed for a few seconds against him, enjoying the warm feeling his embrace was awaking in me. I eventually pulled away, realizing that my friends were probably already waiting for us next to the yellow bug. Hook smiled at me, planted a light kiss on my lips and took my hand to drag me behind him on the beach.

* * *

It had now been a few hours since we had arrived at Granny's and the people Elsa and Anna had known while they were at Storybrooke had come and gone, some just coming to say hi, others staying to talk with them for a bit. Belle, among others, had stayed, too happy to see Anna again after all this time. My parents, Henry, Regina, Robin, Killian and I were in the diner since the beginning of the party as well, and everybody seemed to be having a great time.

It was getting late. Sitting in a booth in the back of the diner, apart from the group, both of my hands wrapped around a cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon, I was looking at my friends who were talking happily and didn't seem to have noticed I had pulled away a little bit. I didn't know why I had felt the need to be alone, but I guess it was because I felt absolutely exhausted. When my dad had called earlier, I had thought something bad was happening, and seeing my friend I'd believed gone forever, added to all of the emotions that had followed completely tired me. I would actually have given anything to join my bed and sleep for a week, but it wasn't very polite. However, I was quite aware that, if the party still went on for a bit, I would probably fall asleep in my chair.

I tried to hide another yawn behind my hand, regretting once again the fact that I couldn't drink coffee. Exhausted, I cupped my face into my hands, put my elbows on the table and closed my eyes

 _Just for a bit_ , I thought.

The metallic sound of plates clashing against each other startled me, and I hardly opened my eyes. It took me a few seconds to realize I had moved a bit since I had closed them. I was feeling an arm wrapped around my waist, and bounced back a bit to find out that I was leaning against Hook's shoulder, who had wrapped his arm around me to support my weight. Elsa was sitting in the booth, facing us, and they were both staring at me with a kindly amused look on their faces.

"Look who's finally waking up." Killian said, gently running his hand up and down my spine.

"I fell asleep, huh?" I asked, already knowing the answer, rubbing my eyes with my hand in order to wake me up a little bit more.

"Yeah, you did." Killian nodded with a gentle smile. "And with all the noises people are making, I have no idea how."

"I'm so sorry." I said, feeling a bit guilty as I turned back to face Elsa. "I'm so happy you're here, I'm just..."

"… Tired because of the pregnancy?"She cut me off gently. "I can understand that, Emma, believe me. You don't have to apologize. By the way, I haven't had the chance to congratulate you two yet."

"Thanks." Killian answered with a smile before pulling away from me to get off the booth. "I'm gonna leave you to it."

"I want you to tell me everything!"Elsa resumed, leaning toward me as Killian was joining the others near the counter. "I didn't know you and Killian wanted to have children."

"Believe me, I didn't know either." I replied, laughing a bit. "It just happened, you know. So many things have changed since you left..."

Without really thinking about what I was doing, I started telling her about all our misadventures : my days as a Dark one, Killian's death and the things I had to face to go get him in the Underworld and bring him back. I saw Elsa paling as I was talking, and when I stopped, she took my hand, looking at me in disbelief :

"Oh my god, Emma, I had no idea, I'm so sorry for you! And… Are you okay? You're getting over this? Your magic hasn't been touched by the curse? It's still the same?"

I tensed up a bit hearing her question. Actually, I hadn't used my powers since I had got rid of the Dark One curse, because I was way too scared it had been touched and was still dark. I had been careful to leave Regina use her powers in the battles we had to lead in the Underworld, so I hadn't had to use mine. Besides, I had learned for good that all magic was indeed coming with a price, and I wasn't eager to use my powers again. With my pregnancy, no one had noticed my reluctance, and it was for the better. I hadn't told anyone about my fears. The fact the Elsa asked me about it destabilized me a bit, because I wasn't expecting that.

"Yeah, it is."I lied with a fake smile. "It is more than fine. Exactly the same as before."

I realized that my answer didn't seem natural, and I saw in Elsa's eyes that she hadn't been fooled by my trick. I therefore changed the subject and put a hand on my belly :

"It's when we came back from the Underworld that I got pregnant. It's been 15 weeks."

"I'm so happy for you, Emma." Elsa said without insisting on the subject of my magic, and I was grateful for her thoughtfulness.

"It's such a pity you can't stay longer." I said with a little wince. "I would have loved for you to meet the little one."

"We'll find a way." she ensured with a confident smile. "We always do. Have you already thought about ideas for the name?"

"God, no!" I said, laughing. "It's way too early for that. We're still processing the news that we're gonna have a baby. And for now, Killian is way too busy trying to keep me at home to provide me from any harm."

"I don't know why, but I could have guessed that." She laughed.

Our conversation continued and I seemed to forget all my problems for a little while : the fear about my powers and becoming a mother. I just enjoyed my friend's presence and the laughter we shared like no time had passed since the last time I had seen her. Our discussion went on and on until Granny warned us that the diner was about to close, and I was surprised to have found myself in such a good mood. I was just so happy to see my friend that all my troubles had gone away, at least for a little while.

* * *

 **Here we go, hope you liked it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys!**

 **Thanks to Emilee Amethyst, Guest, oncer4life11 and usaguilove95 for their review!**

 **Before starting, I've decided to update this fic twice a week from now on. I'd like to update every Monday and Friday. Are you guys okay with that?**

 **Anyway, thanks for all the support! I love you guys! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Okay, Killian, where the hell are you taking me?" I giggled.

"You'll see." He answered, laughing as well, his hand on my shoulder to guide me toward the surprise he had planned for us.

He had awakened me on the early morning, looking very proud of himself, and had forced me to wear a blindfold. He was leading me to a mysterious surprise for about fifteen minutes now. He was proclaiming that he had something for me every time I tried to ask him what was happening. Even if his behavior was really weird, I couldn't help myself but laugh because of all the mysteries he was putting into his plan. Completely blinded, I was trying to use my other senses and guess where we were going. The area was smelling like the sea and the summer, despite the cold wind of the beginning of the fall : we were near the beach or the docks, I was sure of it.

"My birthday is only in two weeks, you know." I resumed, laughing out loud.

"I know, and it has nothing to do with your birthday. Can't I plan something for the women I love without having to explain myself?"

"If this is a trick..." I said, trying to sound threatening, but ending up laughing at my own joke.

"I can assure you this is not a trick, Swan. We're almost there, try to be a little patient."

"I trust you, you already know that, but, please, don't make me hit something..."

"Emma!" He cried out.

"I'm just kidding" I laughed while, with a little strain of his thumb, he asked me to stop walking.

I obeyed with a little smile, and felt him taking off my blindfold. The sunlight reached my retinas through my eyelids. I could hear the comforting sounds of the waves crashing against the sand near us. Despite the cold of October, the weather was pretty good, even if the wind was blowing quite heavily, making my hair fly before my face. Everything was quiet around us, and we could only hear the noises of the seas and the screams of the seagulls.

"You can open your eyes now." He said in an overexcited tone.

Quite amused by his behavior, I opened my eyes and didn't talk right away, a bit confused by what I was seeing. We were standing on the docks, right before the Jolly Rodger. I looked around me to embrace the skyline. The place was empty : we were alone. I didn't understand why he had led me there, given the fact we were on his ship quite often, and I had to admit I had no idea what was going on.

"You're taking me on your ship?" I asked, glancing at him with a bit of surprise.

It was not that I wasn't happy he had taken me there (every moment spend with him felt like a gift, actually), but I didn't get why he had been so mysterious about it, and why he hadn't wanted me to know where we were going. It wasn't like it was the first time I was seeing the ship, and his overexcited expression was confusing me a bit.

He didn't answer, took my hand and gave me a little smirk, dragging me behind him to get on the boat. I followed him, waiting for his answer with curiosity, and he ended up saying after a few more seconds, as we were standing right above the captain's cabin.

"I'm not only taking you on my ship." He said without giving me a clear explication, letting go of my hand to go down into the cabin.

"Which means?" I insisted, looking at him, perplexed.

"I'm taking you sailing on my ship." He finished, disappearing underneath my feet.

"Killian." I started with a little smile, following is lead into the room. "I'm not usually seasick, but I can't promise you anything with the pregnancy..."

The rest of my joke got stuck into my throat when I turned back to look at Killian after arriving into the cabin. I was completely speechless by what I was seeing right before my eyes.

A meal coming form Granny's was laying on the table, candles were enlightening the room in a flickering light, and the dress I was wearing during our first date was hanging in a corner. The scene shouldn't have meant anything special – nothing more than a romantic dinner – but he had just entirely reconstructed the moment where, as the Dark One, I had led him on the ship to talk to him, moment where he had assured me that he didn't love me anymore.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to curb my emotion and prevent myself from crying. This moment had been so painful for me, and I could recall it as if it had took place the day prior : The sadness, the betrayal, the despair. I had thought he hated me while all I had done as the Dark One was to save him. I now knew that it wasn't the solution, that I had acted under the Dark One curse. But I had done all those things because I loved him, and hearing him telling me that he didn't loved me anymore had hurt me so much that I had felt like my heart was being ripped out off my chest.

"I wanted to redeem myself." He said gently, interrupting my thought while I felt my eyes starting to fill in with tears.

He took my hand and made me turn to face him. I looked up right into his beautiful deep blue eyes, speechless. I didn't know why he had done all of this. I knew there was a message behind it, but finding myself into this was making me sad, and I wanted to cry so bad. He seemed to understand what I was feeling, and gently smiled at me :

"I wanted to tell you that I was so sorry for what I said that day. I know you're aware of it now, but I behaved like a perfect idiot. I should never have told you that. When you most needed me, I let you down, and I hate myself for that. So I'm telling you now : I love you, Emma Swan, and having a child with you is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me."

His words deeply moved me, and I felt like I could burst out crying at any moment now. A sob was obstructing my throat, preventing me from talking. It didn't seem to bother him, because without giving me the time to pull myself together, he leaned forward and kissed me for a very long time. When he pulled away, I left my forehead pressed against his and whispered in a muffled voice :

"I love you too."

We stayed for a long time snuggled into each other's arms before I pulled away for good. I turned away to quickly wiped off a tear that was streaming down my face. Wishing to put a wall between me and my emotions to prevent myself from sobbing and feeling the need to take my distance with the situation, I said in a low voice :

"You know I'm probably unable to wear this dress right now, right?"

"It was for the show." He replied, smiling. "The wine is missing too, you can understand why."

I smiled back, put my hands on my face to wiped off the tears for good, and walked toward a chair while Killian, always a gentleman, was pulling out the seat for me to sit on it.

* * *

"So, do you like the surprise?" Killian asked as we were finishing our meal.

"Mmm" I grunted before swallowing my bite. "But you're right, I miss the wine."

He laughed out loud, and I reached for his hand, intertwining our fingers together. I'd had a really great time, just being with him, talking about anything with an amazing easiness. At this stage of the game, I was quite sure he was my soul mate, and I couldn't be happier about it. Our dates were usually interrupted by a crisis of some sorts, but not this time. We had actually managed to stay out of trouble for more than a couple of hours straight, and it made me so happy. I was so moved by his idea, by the fact he had felt the need to apologize in such a beautiful way. He had recreated the date, because this great moment was how it was supposed to happen the first time. I knew he loved me, probably more than anyone had ever loved me in my entire life, but the fact that he had wanted to redeem himself really touched my heart.

"Seriously, babe, it's perfect." I resumed gently, looking at him straight into his eyes.

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me as if he was trying to make sure I wasn't lying.

"Yeah, I mean, you know it. Anytime there is some kind of food..."

I didn't finish my joke and gasped, utterly surprised, before letting go of his hand to put mine on my stomach. I stayed there for a bit, absolutely amazed by what had just happened, and it took a couple of seconds for me to notice he was calling my name :

"Emma? Emma!" He shouted, looking utterly worried.

I didn't answer right away, my mind a bit blank because of the event that had just took place. The baby had just moved for the first time, and I wasn't excepting to feel it so soon. I had already been pregnant, of course, but it had been fourteen years, and I had totally forgotten what it was like to feel the little kicks of the baby inside of me. Besides, I wasn't happy to be pregnant when I was in jail. This time, it was different, and it was absolutely magical

"Emma!" Hook repeated, leaning forward to look at me in the eyes. "What's wrong, love? Is it the baby?"

I kept silence, completely speechless by the explosion of joy I had just felt right underneath my heart, but I looked up to him with a huge smile to reassure him. He seemed quite confused by my expression, but I didn't give him the time to ask me more questions, and I took his hand to put it on my belly, hoping that the baby would kick again. It was so beautiful, and I wanted him to feel it too.

We had to wait a couple of minutes for something to happen, and Killian looked back at me, looking completely lost :

"Swan, what is..."

He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, because we both felt a kick from the baby, and that cut him off completely. Killian's eyes widened, and he pulled his hand away from my stomach, as if something had just burnt him. I laughed for a bit at his confused expression and he said :

"What the hell was that? Is it the baby?" He asked a bit foolishly, looking both surprised and scared at the same time.

"Of course, it's the baby you dummy!" I scoffed kindly, because his comment was particularly funny. "What else could it be?"

"Wow." He said without paying attention to my teasing. "Bloody hell, wow."

"I know, right?" I replied, my hand still on my stomach even if the little one wasn't moving anymore. "I totally agree with you on this."

He stayed quiet for a few seconds, looking at my belly in disbelief. I smiled at him, touched by his reaction, and he ended up looking up to me again :

"Is it hurting you?" He asked, looking a bit worried.

"No!" I said with a comforting smile. "Not at all! It's just a bit surprising, but it's wonderful..."

I wanted to add something but, without notice, he approached me, cupped my neck with his hand and pulled me closer to start kissing me with passion. He pressed his mouth against mine and kissed me until I was breathless, and I ended up saying after pulling away, his lips still against mine :

"Wow, ok. You seemed quite happy by the news. If only I knew you would like it that much..."

He didn't let me finish my sentence, and kissed me once more, even more passionately than before. I closed my eyes and couldn't help myself but smile during our make out session, thinking that I was happier than I had ever been in my entire life.

* * *

 **Here we go, I hope you liked it! In the next chapter, it's Emma's Birthday, and Killian has a little (big) surprise for her...**

 **See you soon! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to EF22, Emilee Amethyst and oncer4life11 for the reviews! As promised in the last chapter, I'm now going to update twice a week (every Monday and Frisay). Hope you'll like this chapter, there's a little surprise in it :)**

* * *

I was awakened by a ray of sunshine that was straining through the curtains and reached my retinas through my eyelids. I opened my eyes and rolled on my back, surprised not to feel Killian's arms wrapped around me. I found his side of the bed empty and cold, but I heard noises coming from the kitchen not long after, and something that smelled like waffles made my stomach rumbled. Smiling, I got up quietly to go into the bathroom and dress up.

Ten minutes later, I got out of the room barefoot and walked toward the stairs, yawning and stretching. I had slept like a baby, but I was tired most of the time because of the pregnancy. To be honest, it felt like I was spending most of my time sleeping or eating, and it was making Hook laugh a lot. I quickly went downstairs, but as I was heading for the living room, I heard a familiar voice calling me from the kitchen :

"Don't make another move!"

Wondering what had gotten into him, I obeyed and turned my head, trying to see what he was doing. The wonderful smell coming from the breakfast he had obviously cooked made me salivate, and I smiled at him when he turned to face me.

He walked toward me, wrapped his arms around my waist, smiled back and said gently :

"Happy birthday, beautiful."

"Thanks." I whispered as he was leaning forward to press a kiss on my lips.

"I didn't hear you get up, there." He said, running his hand up and down my spine. "You hungry? I made waffles."

"I think you already know the answer, don't you?" I laughed, and he playfully raised an eyebrow at me.

"That's true. You already liked food before, but now that you are pregnant..." He joked.

I laughed out loud and walked toward the kitchen table. I was about to sit down when my eyes caught a little gift box, wrapped in a red paper, laying next to my empty plate. I took it in my palm and turned back to face Killian, who hadn't moved and was looking at me with a little smirk.

"Killian, what is that?" I said in a falsely disapproving way, quite surprised by his gesture. "I told you my birthday was nothing important. I've never really celebrated it, it's just an ordinary day..."

"And I thought it was about time I make things different." He cut me off gently. "Open up."

I smiled at him, still a bit surprised but really happy. I wasn't expecting that, and I was amazed by this man who always wanted to make me feel loved. I turned my back to him to open the present, and frowned, a bit confused. Inside of the paper was a little dark red box, and I looked at it for a few seconds, trying to guess what it was hiding. A bit puzzled, I ended up opening it, and froze, completely shocked. I put a hand on my stomach, still holding the box in my palm. Inside of it was the ring Killian had given me when we were in Camelot. I never took it off except when I was sleeping, and he had probably taken it when I wasn't looking. The ring wasn't hanging on the chain anymore, and seeing it laying in that box, like an engagement ring, made me nervous. I felt my heart starting to pound loudly in my chest. The baby kicked, as if it was feeling my anxiety. I didn't know what to think. We had never talked about getting married – hell, we were still processing the fact we were gonna raise a child together – and he knew about my commitment issues. Speechless, I heard him approach me from behind my back, and turned back to face him again, my lips parted, holding the box right in front of his face as if I was requiring an explanation. My heart was pounding so quickly in my chest I felt dizzy for a second.

"What… What does that mean?" I finally stuttered after a moment of silence.

"Calm down, Swan." He said with a little smile, standing really close to me. "It's a symbol."

"A symbol?" I repeated, utterly confused.

"Look, Em', I can see that you were not expecting this, and that you are afraid, and that's okay. It's just that we're having a child together, and given your past, I wanted to give you this ring in a box. It's a symbol, it means that I will never ever leave you. But you're the one who has to decide what it means to you. It can be a simple ring or it can be an engagement ring, and it's your choice. Whatever you choose, I won't be upset, I promise. I just want you to know that I will never let you down and that you will have to bear with me for a long, long time."

I needed a few seconds to understand what his words meant. I looked up to meet his eyes, still in shock, trying to know if he was saying the truth or not. Still unable to say anything, I didn't know what to think anymore. I wasn't expecting that but at my own surprised, I wasn't scared. I was actually very happy to hear his speech, because I knew he was being honest. He wasn't going to let me down, ever. I trusted him on this.

"You don't have to answer me now, Swan." He added, noticing that I was still speechless. "You can think about it..."

"Yes." I suddenly cut him off, without really realizing what I was saying, and a bit surprised, but mostly happy, when I heard the word coming out of my mouth.

"Yes what?" He asked, a bit confused.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, I want… I want it to be an engagement ring."

"Are you sure, love?" He asked, frowning, probably because he wasn't expecting an answer right away. "I want to know your real opinion. You're allowed to freak out, you know. Please, don't say that just to please me..."

"I'm not!" I replied, staring at the ring with a huge smile on my face, still trying to process what was happening. "I'm not saying we have to get married tomorrow, but I went to the Underworld to get you back, because nothing makes sense without you. You know I'm scared of commitment, but if I'm sure of something, it's that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He seemed so happy to hear my words, and his smile reached his eyes when he pulled me closer to press a kiss on my lips. He gently rubbed my stomach with his right hand, his left arm wrapped around me. He ended up pulling away, only to take the ring from the box and put it around my finger.

"Well, in that case, Emma swan, it looks like we are engaged."

I laughed, a tear of joy streaming down my face, realizing what it meant for us. He looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world, and took me into his arms while I cuddled against his chest. I had thought I would have been terrified, hell I had never even though about marriage, I had always believed it wasn't for me. But every time I was with Killian, everything seemed so obvious, so easy. I wanted to be with him forever. I wasn't scared anymore, and it was because of him.

* * *

"I can't believe it" Henry said, looking at my hand in disbelief. "I can't believe it!"

In addition to his wonderful surprise of giving me the ring, Killian had organized a little party at Granny's, and he had invited my family and all my close friends. The party had just started, and most of the guests were already there, except for my parents who were still at the station to make sure that the town wasn't going to explode if they decided to get some rest for a few hours. We would have wanted to announce our engagement to everyone at the same time, but Henry had noticed the ring around my finger since the moment we had walked into the diner, and he had reacted right away, alerting everybody at the same time. I had asked them to keep the secret from my parents because I wanted to tell them myself. I knew they would be happy for us, but my son's expression was a bit blurry. I couldn't tell if he was happy or not, and that was worrying me a bit.

"I can't believe you're gonna get married. To the pirate." Regina said, looking at us while Killian was rolling his eyes.

"I can't believe you're officially gonna enter the family." Henry added, staring at Hook with his brows together.

I turned back to look at Killian, who was smiling at my son in a comforting way. The both of them were getting along quite well, but knowing that I was gonna marry someone could be a bit too much to handle for a teenager. I looked back at my son with a grin, putting a hand on his shoulder :

"I know there is a lot of change in your life right now, kid. The baby, the engagement... You sure you're okay with that?"

"Yes, lad" Hook added gently. "If something is bothering you, you can tell us. We won't be upset, that's a promise."

"I'm fine!" He assured with a smile, and I let out a sight of relief. "But I'm more worried about Grandma and Grandpa. They are gonna freak out!"

"We can say that." Regina muttered. "Don't be surprised if David decides to hunt you down, Hook."

"You sure everything's fine for you, Henry?" I insisted while Killian was laughing out loud at Regina's comment.

"Absolutely, mom. As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you."

"I am." I said in a whisper before reaching to wrap my arms around my son.

The diner's door opened as I was pulling away from Henry and my parents entered the room, my Dad holding Neal, who was now one year old, in his arms. The room got quiet right away, all of my friends staring at us, probably wanting to see how my parents were going to react.

My parents didn't notice that something was strange right away. They wished me a happy birthday with a huge smile, pulling me into a tight embrace. But after a couple a minutes, my mom ended up asking :

"Is something wrong? You're all very quiet."

I hid my left hand behind my back so they couldn't see the ring before I told them about it, and turned away to glance at my friends, who all started talking at the same time in the most unnatural way possible. I looked back at my parents with an innocent smile, and they frowned, looking a bit confused. In addition to that, Regina and Henry were staring at them as if they were coming from another planet, and it was just making things worst.

"Everything's fine!" I said with a huge smile, but my mom didn't seem satisfied with my answer and kept looking right into my soul.

"Are you sure? Everybody is acting really strangely..."

"When I'm saying everything's fine, I don't mean there's nothing special happening." I said, looking at Killian, enjoying this situation way too much.

"I'm not sure I understand..." My dad started without finishing his sentence.

Finally deciding that showing them was better than telling them, I had put my hand right in front of their faces and was laughing because of their confused expression. They stared at my fingers for a couple of seconds, and my mom was the first one to ask in disbelief :

"Is that… Isn't this..."

She didn't need to finish because Killian and I nodded at the same time. My mom squealed and my friends started to laugh at her reaction. Before I had the chance to say anything else, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a thigh embrace. My dad was looking at me in shock and seemed absolutely speechless. I smiled at him behind my mom's shoulder, but he didn't seem to notice me.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" she cried out, pulling away from me but keeping her hands on my shoulders.

"Are you okay?" I asked with a little smirk while Killian was laughing out loud next to me.

"I can't believe you're gonna have a baby, and get married, and..."

"Hold on, don't get too excited." I cut her off, looking at Killian who nodded at me as my mom let go of my shoulders. "That's..."

"… A promise." Killian completed, wrapping his right arm around me to place his hand on my belly, putting his chin on my shoulder. "It's to assure her I will never let her down."

My mom nodded, but she still seemed overexcited. My dad was still quiet, staring at us like it was the first time he was seeing us. I raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed :

"Don't you have something to say?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… I'm a bit surprised, that's all. But congratulations. I'm happy for you."

I knew it wasn't the end of it, and a few seconds later, he turned back to face Killian and said in a harsh way :

"I have to warn you, if you're planning on hurting my daughter..."

"I think you already made me understand that you would be there if I made her suffer in any way. But don't worry about that. It will never happen, because I love her with all I am and I will never hurt her."

I smiled and turned my head to quickly press a kiss on his lips. The baby moved at that exact same time, and Killian pulled away from me, laughing, rubbing my belly with his palm.

"I know it's not for now, but I promise you, honey." My mom said, looking at me with a little smile. "I promise you that when you'll get married, you will have a real royal wedding. You didn't have the chance to live like a princess, like you should have, and you deserve it. It's time things change."

I stared at my mom, tears in my eyes, moved by her words. I knew my parents loved me, of course, I was their daughter, but they didn't raise me. They only knew me for a couple of years, and they were much closer to Neal, who was still a baby. But my mom's words touched my heart and I leaned forward to hug her one more time.

"Thanks, mom." I said in a somewhat shaky voice.

I stayed snuggled into her arms for a long time, and when I pulled away, she gently wiped the tears from my face with her hand.

"You have so many people who love you, Emma. Never think otherwise" She said in a whisper, looking at me with pure love in her eyes.

Her words suddenly made me think about this young woman who had blown her birthday candle alone, wishing with a bit of despair not to be alone anymore. That same night, a little boy had come into my life, claiming that I was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and that they needed my help. I was so cold at the time, I was so closed off because I had suffered so much. And now I was pregnant and engaged to the man I loved, the man who had broken my walls, and I had a bigger family that I could ever have wished for. Dozens of friends had come to the diner just for me, to wish me a happy birthday and show me their love. Four years prior, these kind of things would have seemed so unreal, but my mom's smile, the gentle look from my friends and family, the arm that Killian and wrapped around my shoulder once again, all of this were telling me that it was real. My mom was right. I was loved, finally. And, maybe for the first time in my life, I was happy and couldn't wait to see what the future were holding for us.

* * *

 **Here we go, I hope you liked it! There is not going to be a wedding in this fiction, but I think it's a good time to announce that this story has a second volume that I'm updating in French right now. I'm going to start translating it in English as soon as I'm finished with this fiction, so you'll have the next part of this story right away!**

 **See you friday, for a really long and hectic chapter! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to Emilee Amethyst and EF22 for the reviews! This chapter is longer than usual, I hope you'll like it! :)**

* * *

The wind gusts were howling with a surprising violence. It was freezing outside, and I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. We were only in November, but the weather was so terrible that it felt like the cold was reaching my bones. A huge storm had hit the town the day prior, and had made a lot of damages, giving us a horrifying amount of work to try and make everything normal again. We were the sheriffs after all, it was our job. But I was really tired, and I was so, so cold. I just wanted to go home, bury myself into ten blankets and never wake up.

We were standing in front of a huge tree trunk that had fallen across the road, blocking the way near the town line. It was quite obvious we couldn't leave it there and wait for a miracle to happen, but I had no idea how to move it from there. I glanced at the people surrounding me : my mom and dad, Regina, and Killian who had wanted to join us and help us find a solution. For some reason, Regina seemed really annoyed by the situation. I rolled my eyes seeing her so tensed up and buried my hands into my coat's pocket, shivering a bit.

"So." My mom started, her face half hidden by her scarf. "What do we do about that?"

"It seems quite obvious, doesn't it?" Regina replied somewhat aggressively.

Seeing that we were all confused by her words seemed to annoy her even more and she sighted loudly. I ducked my head, trying to protect myself from a particularly violent gale.

"We use magic, of course!"

I suddenly looked up, triggered by her words. I hadn't thought about that, but now that she was talking about it, I didn't know why I had forgotten this possibility. Regina was a master in magic. Making this tree move would be a piece of cake for her.

"You're daughter is the Savior, for god's sake!" My friend added, looking at my mom. "She can easily resolve this."

I snapped my head toward Regina so quickly that my neck hurt for a second. I couldn't do that, that was out of the question. I couldn't use my magic, not after being the Dark One. No one knew if my magic was still dark, it could be. And, quite honestly, I didn't want to find out. I had made everyone suffer, my action were still haunting me. I was still having nightmares about Killian's death, and I wasn't ready to use my powers again, I would probably never be.

"Me?" I asked in a somewhat muffled voice.

Killian immediately noticed that something was disturbing me and he turned toward me with a frown. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I didn't answer. I was way to busy trying to find a way out of this.

"Do you know somebody else who is called The Savior?" Regina scoffed. "Go for it, Swan. Show us how powerful you are."

"I… I..."

I stuttered and didn't finish my sentence. My heart had started to pound painfully in my chest and I blushed despite the cold. I felt a hot flush pass trough me, and thought I was going to pass out for a second. I was so scared I couldn't think straight anymore, and didn't know how to get away from this.

"You what?" Regina insisted, looking at me with pure exasperation. "What are you waiting for? We're not getting any younger here"

"I don't...I don't know if I can use my magic during the pregnancy. It can be dangerous for the baby… Why don't you do it? You're way better than me anyway." I said, mumbling the first thing that had passed through my mind.

I was ashamed to use the baby as an escape, but I didn't have a choice. I had to get out of this, it was an emergency. I didn't want my family to know what I was feeling about my powers. I was my choice not to use them anymore, and I knew they would try to convince me I didn't have to be scared if I told them. They couldn't understand.

"Oh, no, Emma." Regina said, and my breath got stuck in my throat. "Don't use that as an excuse. What's going on?"

"Nothing." I lied, panting, feeling like the air wasn't reaching my lungs anymore.

"Don't try this with me, Miss Swan. What's wrong?"

I didn't answer the question and was feeling really bad, as if I was going to pass out or throw up. I was probably looking terrified, because Killian said in a worried voice :

"Swan, are you all right?"

"Now that I'm thinking about it, you haven't used your magic for a very long time, am I wrong? When was the last time you've used your power?" Regina asked, not paying attention to my discomfort.

"I don't… Know." I said hardly, because I couldn't breathe anymore.

"I think you know it very well. It's time you stop being afraid, Swan. Move the tree."

"I can't..."

"Do it Swan! You don't wanna see me get mad today, and I'm not in the mood for your little drama..."

"Stop it!" Killian shouted, stepping forward as if he was trying to protect me. "Can't you see she's not feeling well?"

"Emma, what's going on?" My mom asked gently, looking at me straight into my eyes.

I was feeling really dizzy, now. The situation had gotten out of hand really fast. I had to find a way out of there. I needed to get away from Regina's gaze, but I was feeling so bad I didn't even now If I was able to walk. I didn't know what to do, everything was blurry. They knew that something was off with me, now, but I couldn't tell them. I just couldn't

"Emma..." Regina added in a threatening way.

"I just can't!" I finally yelled, and everyone startled.

"Emma, honey, what's wrong?" My dad started, trying to step forward and join me, but I moved away to avoid him.

I was so scared and so mad at Regina for insisting that all my body was shaking. I could feel my teeth clashing into my mouth. She could see that she had hit a weak spot. Why was she trying to set me off like that?

"You can't, or you don't want to?" Regina said, her jaw clenched.

I didn't answer, my shoulders moving at the fast pace of my breathing. If she didn't stop right away, I felt like I was going to get mad. I was feeling the rage bubbling in my chest, and it felt like I could explode at any moment. I stepped back again, trying to pull away from my family, and said in a hollow voice :

"Just drop it already!"

"I won't stop, Swan!" she said stubbornly. "Tell me what the hell is wrong with you."

"You bloody heard her!" Hook cried out, looking deeply mad at her for making me feel so bad. "You're gonna leave her be, or I swear I'm gonna force you to shut up."

The anger was so violent that my stomach was starting to hurt really bad. I was scared that all of this would have an effect on the baby, but I couldn't calm down. I was so damn pissed off.

"Answer me, Swan!" She added once again, not listening to Hook who stepped forward as if he was going to jump at her throat.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" I yelled, and my voice broke a bit.

Probably because of the fear and the anger I was feeling, sparks spurted out of the closest street light, making us all startle. I looked down at my hands with pure terror. If Regina wasn't giving me a break right now, I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know what my magic could do anymore. I was so scared to hurt someone I loved. I had to run away from this. For my sake and my closed one's

So I turned back and ran toward the yellow bug that was parked on the side of the road. I heard several voices calling me back. My parents and Hook sounded deeply worried, but Regina seemed mostly annoyed and not guilty at all. I sat down behind the wheel and turned the car to be on the right side of the street. I had to go. I had to run away from this. Driving past my family, I had the time to see Killian's worried and confused expression. Then I pushed on the accelerator pedal and moved away from all of this the faster I could.

* * *

I had driven at a dangerous speed, way above the limitation, and I had ended up stopping my car in one of the forest path. Hidden behind the trees, my family could find me less easily. I was so scared, and I felt like I was going to cry. I was still breathing way to fast. I had a disturbing taste in my mouth, and felt horribly nauseous. I had to get out of the yellow bug, or I would probably threw up, and it wasn't going to help me.

Before going outside, I took my phone in my hand and found out that I had several missed calls from my parents, furious texts from Regina and a voice mail that Killian had left for me. I took a deep breath to try and find the courage to listen to his voice. I knew it was probably gonna make me feel worse, because I felt so guilty to have run away like that already. After another minute, I ended up pressing the button and putting the phone on my ear to hear what he had to say.

"Swan, I don't know what's going on, but I can tell it's bad. I know your first reaction is always to pull away from those you love, because you don't want to hurt them. But, even if I'm sorry about what Regina did to you because she had no right to push you over the edge like that – and believe me, I made her understand that I was on your side – she's right about one thing : you have to stop being afraid. It makes you suffer, and we love you. We can help you. You trust me, right? So come back home. We can talk about all of this. I promise you that whatever is going on, I'll understand and I'll help you the best I can. But you can't stay outside : You're pregnant, it's freezing and there is a new storm coming our way. I'm begging you, Em', don't force us to come and get you. Come back, and we will talk about it."

I tried to stop the tears I was feeling in my eyes from streaming down my face. I wanted nothing more that going home and hug him, but I couldn't. I couldn't risk to hurt him. I loved him way too much for that. After a few seconds of silence, he added gently :

"I love you with all I am, Swan. Come back quickly, okay?"

I kept the phone glue to my ear for a couple of seconds after his voice faded. I wiped a tear that had escaped my eyes and was making its way down my face. I just wanted to bury myself into his arms, fall asleep while he was running his hand through my hair and forget about all of this, but is was impossible. Regina had awakened something dangerous in me, I could feel it, and I couldn't go near those I loved unless I was calmed down. It was for their own good. I ended up putting my phone into the glove compartment and got out of the yellow bug, sighting loudly.

The cold hit me so violently that I was unable to breathe for a second, but it actually helped me clear up my head. I started walking and left the path to start strolling between the trees, not knowing where I was going. I just knew that I needed to move in order not to go crazy and make the all town explode.

I knew Killian was right. I knew the right thing to do was to go back to my family and tell them everything. But I was so scared to admit how I was feeling. And yet, I was aware that, even if they tried to convince me to use my magic again, that would actually help me. Regina could even teach me how to take control over it again. But was that what I wanted?

I walked for a very long time, lost in my thoughts, and ended up sitting on the ground, my back against a tree. I was tired because of the walk and the hill I had just climbed. I absent-mindlessly started playing with the ring Hook had given me to calm down.

The truth was that I didn't know if I wanted to use my magic again. I was the Savior, sure, but magic could hurt people and I had made my family suffer when I had lost control over my powers or when I was the Dark One. I had done unspeakable things to the people I loved, even if I didn't do it on purpose. I had hurt Henry, and even if he was saying he had forgiven me, I was scared he was lying. I had stolen Merida's heart to get what I wanted. I had made Killian suffer so much, and he had died because of me. I couldn't take that kind of risk anymore. I was so much better when I was normal, ordinary, without powers.

I was so damn cold. I was shaking and my fingers were starting to get numb. The baby kicked, as if it was protesting against the situation I was putting us in. It could probably feel my fear, after all, and I hoped it wasn't hurting it. I placed a hand on my rounded out stomach, and stroke it gently with my thumb, trying to calm the baby down.

"Mommy is so sorry, sweetie." I said in a husky voice.

I didn't know if it could hear me or anything, but I felt like it was comforting it a bit, even if it was probably only the result of my imagination. I stayed in that position and, after a while and despite the cold, I felt a little bit better. I was just so tired because of all the emotions I had just had. I ended up placing my head against the tree trunk behind me and I closed my eyes.

 _Just for a little while_ , I thought before falling asleep.

* * *

I was awakened by the noise of branches snapping because of the wind. I opened my eyes with great difficulty, and needed a couple of seconds to remember what I was doing in the middle of the woods. My hand was still placed on my stomach, and I hadn't moved a bit, but I had probably slept for several hours because the sun was starting to set in the sky.

Apart from the wind and the distant thunder, the woods were absolutely quiet, as if all the animals had hidden. I was freezing, and I looked down at my hands to realize that they had turned purple. The coat I was wearing wasn't keeping me warm enough, and the surrounding quiet was telling me that a storm was coming.

I couldn't stay in the middle of the woods now that a hurricane was coming my way. I didn't want to die, crushed under a tree. I was way too cold to stay outside anyway. My teeth were clashing against each others, and my limbs felt like rusty when I got up from the ground. I had to go and find the yellow bug, I would be warmer inside the car. I didn't know where to go, but anything was better than here, because the baby and I weren't safe.

I started walking, my legs stiffed and numb because of the cold, my arms wrapped around myself to keep warm. It suddenly started raining cats and dogs, and my clothes got drenched in a few minutes. I was feeling the frozen raindrops running down my neck and my spine, giving me the shivers. If I didn't get sick with that, nothing would.

I was keeping on walking, my shoes sinking into the mud. I suddenly realized that I wasn't sure about the way I had taken, and I got scared that I had lost myself. I didn't even have my phone to call someone if I had a problem. What the damn hell had gotten into me to leave the path? If I had lost myself into the storm, I would probably have died before someone could have found me.

My clothes were sticking to my skin, and my hair was as drenched as if I had just gotten out of the shower. A very cold shower, though. The wind had got stronger, and I could see the branches moving dangerously above my head. I hastened a bit. I had to find the yellow bug, or I was going to end up dead or with a pneumonia.

I was starting to get really worried about the way I had chosen when I saw my car a few feet ahead of me. I sighted with relief. I could finally get warm and leave this unsafe place. I almost ran toward the yellow bug, feeling the deep urge to warm me up.

I however stopped when I saw a blurry figure standing next to the car. I needed a couple of seconds to recognize who was there, and I finally realized it was Killian, who was looking all around him, probably looking for me. I cursed internally because I had kept my phone on : He had probably found me because of that. I wasn't ready to talk to him. I was shivering so violently that it was starting to hurt. I wanted to get inside of my car, but I couldn't avoid Hook, and I didn't know what to tell him. I needed a few more hours to calm down completely. I felt like if I had to talk about my feelings right away, I would start crying or yelling, and my powers would get out of control again. I couldn't hurt him.

I then gave up on the idea of warming me up inside of the car, and turned back to walk away from this, taking at my advantage that Killian hadn't seen me yet because of the rain. But as I was walking, I sliped because of a mud puddle I hadn't noticed. I managed to find my balance before falling down on the floor, but I had cursed really loudly in the process, and my scream had rung through the wind :

"Swan!" Killian's voice immediately shouted, and I stopped myself from moving.

I had excepted that. I knew I couldn't run away anymore now that he had seen me. I left my back turned to try and stayed calm. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for what was coming while my shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

"Emma, finally! Where the bloody hell were you? I've tried to leave you a message, but as always, you didn't listen and you did what you wanted to do! God, you're impossible!"

He sounded so angry, and I could easily understand him. He probably thought that I wasn't trusting him enough to tell him what was bothering me. But it wasn't that. On the opposite, I was just so scared that my powers would have gone crazy if I had started talking about my feelings.

"Have you gone made?! You can't do things like that, you understand? You can't run away from me without an explanation. And you're not only putting yourself in danger, but also the baby! You may be scared or whatever, but it's my child too! And you fucking can't risk its life like that!"

His words hit me, and I suddenly realized that he was right. I had put the baby in danger by coming here. In addition to all the doubts I already had, I started to think that I wouldn't be able to take care of this kid. It wasn't born yet, and I was already putting its life in danger. The cold that was hurting me, the fear that was compressing my stomach, it was probably feeling it too.

The terror, the cold that was now hurting every inches of my body and Hook's words finally put me down. I started crying violently, and pressed a hand against my mouth to stop the sobs from coming out. Killian couldn't see in which horrible state I was as I was still back to him, and he kept on yelling :

"Turn back to me, Swan! Look at me in the eyes, and tell me what the fuck is wrong with you!"

I obeyed, my shoulders shaking because of the sobs, my tears mixing up with the rain on my cheeks. I didn't answer to Killian, too busy trying to stay on my feet because I felt like I could collapse any minutes now.

"Swan?" Killian asked, probably guessing that something was off even of he couldn't see that I was crying from the distance.

I let go of a long sob, and bent a bit, trying to escape from the pain of the sadness, the fear and the shame. I didn't know what had gotten into me to get out of the yellow bug. I should have stayed in the car. I was scared of myself, I didn't know what could happen with my magic when I was in that horrible state. I felt so guilty about the risk I had put the baby in. The cold was hacking me, and every inches of my body was aching.

Killian suddenly approached me, getting that something was wrong. I saw that he was drenched by the rain too. His face changed from anger to concern when he saw how lamentable I was, and he stopped a foot ahead of me :

"Emma, what's wrong?"

I answered with a new sob, unable to speak, and he walked the distance between us to take me into his arms. I let my head fall against his shoulder, still crying uncontrollably, shaking from the cold and the fear.

"Shhh." He said gently, trying to comfort me by running his hand through my hair. "Calm down, sweetheart, it's all right. I'm here now, you're safe. Stop crying, it's okay..."

I stayed cuddled into his arms, still crying, dozens of dark thoughts crashing inside my brain. I was so scared to lose all control and hurt Killian, but he was actually comforting me, and I knew it would have been worse if I had tried to run away again.

After a long time during which he kept on whispering comforting words to my ear, my sobs started to calm a bit. Tears were still running down my face, but I could speak again, and spluttered :

"I'm… So… I'm so sorry..."

"I know, darling, I know." He said, pressing a kiss on my forehead. "We're gonna talk about that together, okay? We're gonna find a way to help you. I'm going to call David now. They are all searching for you in the town. We were all worried, you know? But go inside the car while I call your father. You're freezing." He added, squeezing my hand between his fingers, looking deeply worried. "You can't get sick."

I nodded, thinking that it was probably too late to try and prevent me from the cold, and climb on the backseat of the car. Once inside, I placed my head on the window, still shivering, and put a hand on my belly. The baby kicked, and it comforted me a bit. If it was moving, it meant that it was in good shape, right?

I felt a lonely tear running down my face. Sheltered from the wind and the rain, I was feeling better already, even if I still felt horribly ashamed of what I had done. I heard the car door open, and Killian settled next to me. He offered me a small smile, not angry at all anymore, and he took my hand, saying :

"Your parents are on their way. They're going to drive us back home. We'll talk about everything there, okay?"

I nodded slowly, feeling bad for running away and putting the baby in danger, but also for my break down. He looked at me with his beautiful eyes, and seemed to guess I was feeling really bad about myself.

"Come here." He said, pulling me close to him. "You're so cold."

I snuggled into his arms, and he wrapped his left arm around me. He placed his right hand on my stomach and started stroking my belly to calm me down :

"You feeling better?"

"I'm so sorry, Killian." I said without answering his question.

"It's all right, you're here now, you're safe, it's all that matter. I'm so sorry too, I shouldn't have yelled like that. You were so scared already, and I made things worse. I know you had a good reason to do all of this, you always have.

"I behaved like a child."

"as I said, I believe that you had a good reason to do so. I got mad because I was scared, you know? I was so scared something had happened to you or the little one. But now that you are both safe, it'll be all right. We'll talk about it. I'll help you the best I can."

I nodded, so grateful for his support. Comforted by the warm of his arms, I closed my eyes and enjoyed his strokes. Soon, exhausted because of the cold and the emotions I'd just had, I fell asleep once again, my head against his chest as he was telling me that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

"Emma? Wake up, love, we're home..."

I felt a hand gently shaking my arm, and opened my eyes, a bit confused. I was still shivering and I felt really bad, has if I was running a fever.

"I slept during the all trip?" I stammered, placing a hand on my forehead.

I was reassured to realize I hadn't grown a fever. I glanced at the front seat and meet my dad's eyes. He had turned back from behind the wheel to look at me in a worried way. When he realized I was staring at him, he took my hand and squeeze it between his :

"You okay, Emma? Dear god, you're absolutely freezing. We're gonna get you warm up inside, okay?"

"Where is mom?" I asked, still cuddled into Hook's arms because it was comforting me.

"She took my truck, we needed someone to drive it back home. She's already inside, they are all waiting for you. You coming?"

I nodded and my father let go of my hand to open up his door. I pulled a little bit away from Hook, my teeth clashing against each other in my mouth, and followed him as he got out of the yellow bug.

The cold hit me so hard that it hurt. I bent over to try and protect myself. Killian looked at me with worry in his eyes and without telling anything, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder as if he was trying to shelter me from the cold and walked quickly toward the house. He made me enter the hallway first, let my dad come behind me and closed the door behind his back.

Once in the hall, my mom practically jumped on me to take me into her arms. I let her pull me into a tight embrace and placed my head on her shoulder. My mom's arms were always managing to calm me down when I was worried. She didn't have to say anything, just feeling her near me was enough for me to relax.

"You scared us to death." She whispered rubbing my back to warm me up. "Jesus, Emma, you're so cold. Come on, let's get you warm up."

I followed my mother without saying anything and walked past Regina. She glanced at me in a somewhat threatening way. I looked down to the ground and kept on walking. I was feeling way too guilty already without having to hear her scream in addition to that.

Henry was sitting on the edge of the sofa and jumped on his feet when I arrived in the living room. He wrapped his arms around me and kept me close to him for a long time.

"I'm so sorry, kid." I said when I pulled away from him, feeling so ashamed about what had happened.

"As long as you're all right, it's not a problem, mom." He said with a smile. "I'm just glad you're safe."

My mom made me sit down on the couch and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders, while my dad went to the kitchen to prepare some hot cocoa. Nobody said anything for a while, my family just stayed there, watching me as if I had just come back from the dead. I was still shaking, but the blanket and the room temperature was warming me up a bit. When my dad placed a mug of hot cocoa with cinnamon in my hands, I sighted with relief, comforted by the heat of the drink. I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the calm before the storm. As I had expected, when I opened my eyes to look at my family, Regina attacked :

"So, Swan, are you finally going to tell us what has gotten into you?"

I opened my mouth to start talking and explaining myself, but she didn't give me the time to say anything. She glanced at me with anger and barked :

"You run away like a perfect idiot when I ask you to use your powers? You haven't used them since you were the Dark One, so don't tell me it has nothing to do with the curse! And then you get god knows where in the cold while your pregnant? You were right to give up Henry for adoption when you were a teen, because if you act like this now that the baby isn't even born yet, you will never be able to take care of a child!"

Her words hit me like a punch in the stomach, but I knew she was right about the fact I had behaved like an idiot. She had just pronounced my doubts aloud about the baby, and I closed my eyes once again, trying not to start crying. I was so scared to be a bad mom.

"Regina!" My mom shouted, her brows together.

"Never ever talk to her like that again." Killian roared, stepping forward as if he was going to do something to her.

"Or what, guyliner?" She scoffed. "You'll attack me with your single hand?"

"I have a hook, and I know how to use it..."

"Calm down! Both of you!" I cut them off in a loud voice.

They all turned back to me, surprised by the sound of my voice, and I looked at each of them in the eyes to be sure I had all their attention.

"Regina is right..."

"Happy to hear that you're sensible about one thing..."

"About my reaction." I cut her off, glancing at her with anger. "But you don't have the right to talk to me that way. I did things that I'm not proud of, I'm aware of how stupid it was, and I'm sorry about that. I have never intended to hurt my baby, you hear me? I had a good reason to walk away like that. I understand that you wanna know more about my fear to use my powers, but for things regarding my pregnancy, it's none of your business."

I had placed a hand on my stomach to illustrate my words and stared at Regina with defiantly. Her lips parted as she was probably surprised by my tone, but she didn't say anything. The room was quiet, and I took a sip from my hot cocoa. The boiling hot drink burned my throat, and I winced. The cup in my hand, I placed it on my knees and resumed with a sight :

"Sit down, I'm going to explain everything to you."

The did as I had said, Hook sitting down next to me and my parents, Regina and Henry on the other seats facing me. They looked so focus, waiting for me to start talking. I looked down to try and find the courage to tell them everything. I didn't want to talk about my feelings, but I didn't have a choice. They had the right to know. I trusted them.

"I'm scared that… I'm scared that my magic could still be dark." I finally stuttered, still looking down at the coffee table to avoid my family's gaze.

'That's it?" Regina said." But Swan..."

"That's it?!" I repeated, looking up to her with anger. "Are you kidding me? I'm telling you one of my worst fear, and you answer _that's it_? I hurt people because of my powers, you know. People I love. I hurt Henry and Killian, and..."

"Mom, I've already told you that I've forgiven you long ago..."

"Swan, we've already talked about it dozens of time, it's okay now..."

They had both talked at the same time, and I vaguely smiled before adding :

"I feel bad for it anyway. I learned that magic always comes with a price. My intentions weren't bad, but I made people suffer. It's better for everyone that I stop using it. I don't wanna hurt someone I love once again."

The room stayed silence for a couple of minutes. The baby kicked, and I absent-mindlessly placed my hand on my stomach to calm it down.

"Emma." My mom then said in a low voice. "I can understand that you're worried, but you don't risk anything now. There is no way your magic is still dark. You're the Savior, baby, you can only have light magic..."

"I killed Cruella with this light magic, mom." I countered her, looking at her straight into her eyes.

"She deserved it." Killian mumbled, turning to face me.

"That is not the question." I said with a little smile. "And that is not the only reason why I ran away. Did you see what the street light did when I got mad? And do you remember what happened when my magic was out of control last year? I couldn't risk to hurt any of you, especially now that I don't know if it's still dark or not."

"There is only one way to know for sure." Regina said, raising an eyebrow at me.

I stayed speechless for a while, too surprised by her words. She wasn't understanding anything. How could she ask me something like that?

"After everything I've told you, don't you understand that I'm _scared?"_ I finally asked a bit aggressively.

"That's precisely that, Emma. I do get it." She answered in a surprisingly gentle voice. "You're a big girl. It's time to stop being afraid, don't you think?"

"I don't… I don't wanna hurt any of you." I said in a high-pitched voice.

I bit my bottom lips, trying to prevent myself from crying. Killian gently placed his hand on mine, and I turned to face him as he was rubbing my skin with his thumb. Tears had formed into my eyes, and he smiled at me to say :

"Hey, love, we don't risk anything. I believe in you."

"But I..."

"I know you're afraid." He gently cut me off. 'But I think I can assure you that we all trust you. Maybe it can give you enough strength to trust yourself, what do you think?"

I turned toward the others to see what they were thinking. They were all staring at me, but there wasn't an ounce of fear in their eyes. Encouraged by the trust I was reading on their faces, I bent over to place my mug on the coffee table and closed my eyes with a little sight, trying to concentrate.

I felt my my face stiffed a bit, and a powerful feeling took control over my body. I knew this sensation all too well : my magic was willing to get out of me. I let it took over me, fighting against my intuition that was telling me to stop right away and let go. But I wasn't strong enough, and I opened my eyes again. I had trouble to breathe, and I couldn't go on. It was way too dangerous.

"What happened?" Regina asked, frowning.

"I'm just… scared." I panted, my eyes wild open. "I felt it coming… My magic… It's here, but I'm just too… Scared."

"Emma." Killian said gently, taking my hand. "I know you can do it, darling. You don't need to be afraid."

I stared at him and he nodded with a trusting smile. Comforted by his words and the look in his eyes, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes once again.

The feeling took over me once again, but I worked hard not to yield to temptation and stop everything once again. I focused so hard that I felt cold sweat running down my spine. Finally, after becoming more and more strong inside of me, I felt my magic vanished and opened my eyes with relief. Nobody had screamed yet, so this meant that I didn't do anything wrong.

The mug wasn't on the coffee table anymore.

I squeezed Killian's hand in mine and turned back. The cup was now standing on the chest of drawers behind the sofa on which I was sitting, between a picture of Henry and one of my mom and me at Granny's.

I turned my head to look at my family. My heart was pounding inside my chest. I couldn't believe it. I had done it, and I hadn't hurt anyone. Looking up, I realized that my parents, Henry and Killian were all looking at me with a huge smile on their faces :

"You did it, Swan." Killian said with pride.

"Well, it's a start." Regina added. "You have a great potential. You can do way better than moving mugs, Emma. If you're okay with that, I can help you learn to use your magic once again..."

"I..."

I stopped, a bit hesitant. I had to admit I had liked using my powers after all this time, especially now that my magic wasn't dark anymore. I glanced at Killian before answering, quietly asking for his opinion. He smiled at me and squeezed my hand, telling me that he was going to support me whatever my choice was.

"Yeah… I mean, I guess..."

"Great!" Regina said with a big smile. "We're gonna start by..."

"Calm down." I answered with a little smile. "Even if I used this sooner as an excuse, I'm really not sure that using my magic a lot is good for the baby. Especially if you decide to place me on a crumbling bridge like last time..."

"I'm not an idiot!" She shouted, before adding in a low voice. "I'll wait for the baby to be born for that."

We burst out laughing all together. It was a bit weird for me to laugh after all these tears and the fear. Now that I was warmer and reassured, I was realizing for good that my reaction was stupid. I then said to try and clear things up :

"I'm so sorry for worrying you. I shouldn't have behaved like that. I should have said everything right away..."

"It's alright, Swan." Killian said, gently squeezing my hand." You've already apologized. You're forgiven. The most important thing is that you and the little one are okay."

I smiled at him before adding ;

"Anyway, thanks for understanding, guys."

"It's not the first time we have to face a crisis like this one." My dad stated with a smile.

"And something tells me that we all would like it to be the last." Regina said with a bit of irony.

* * *

 **Thanks for all the support, and see you Monday! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**a big thanks to oncer4life11, Emilee Amethyst and Guest for their reviews! And a huge thanks to all of you for the 50 followers! If we reach 100, I'll run naked on my campus (no I won't, but it's my way to thank all of you for the support xD).**

 **also, If you want to follow me on twitter I'm "fairytalehope", I mostly post about OUAT and other shows :)**

* * *

"Ok, mom." Henry started, raising an eyebrow at me. "What do you have to tell me that is so important?"

He sat down on the bench I had driven him to. We were facing the Central Park's lake. The place was empty because of the cold, and I was quite happy we were alone. I indeed wanted to talk to him about something, and I had looked for a place where we could be just the both of us. I sat down as well and looked at him with pure innocence, amused by his comment.

"Why do you think we're here to talk about something special? Don't I have the right to spend time with my son?"

"Mom, you bought a box of sweets. It's full of sugar. You would never let me eat that without a good reason. I know you, and I know you always do that when you have something to tell me, because you're afraid of my reaction and you think it's easier to make me happy by offering me pastries before speaking to me."

"I let you eat those things!" I defend myself with a falsely outraged look, trying to ignore the fact that my son was really knowing me all too well.

"Yeah, for Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays or any special occasions. But I don't feel like we're celebrating something, am I wrong?"

"And the option that I just want to share junk-food with you didn't cross your mind?"

"Answer me, mom." He said, showing me that he was done playing game with me.

I took a deep breath and moved to sit crossed-legged and the bench. It was cold outside, but the sky was clear and some ducks were playing in the lake. I looked at my son with a little smile. I wanted to talk to him about some important stuffs, but I couldn't resist the temptation to tease him a little bit :

"Ok, kid, I don't know if you've guessed it, but I wanna talk to you about something."

He looked at me with pure annoyance, and I burst out laughing. I always liked to joke with my son, especially because now that he was a teenager, he was always reacting in a funny way. I took a chocolate doughnut from the box and added in a secretive voice :

"Don't look at me like that, because you were wrong. The sweets are not there to coax you. They are here because I needed something to encourage me."

He finally lost his scowl to laugh, and grabbed a croissant from the box to take a bite from it with an obvious pleasure. I myself ate a bit of my pastry, looking at the lake for a few seconds to focus. I eventually looked back to face him and said in a low and more serious voice :

"Look, Henry, I want to talk with a you a little bit, because there are a lot of changes in my life at the moment, and therefore, your life is a bit turned upside down as well."

He frowned and didn't say anything. I wasn't expecting him to be quiet, but I understood that he was waiting for me to continue, so I resumed :

"Your new sibling, the engagement… I want to make sure that everything is okay for you, because you didn't ask for any of this to happen. I just want to ask your opinion. What are you thinking about all of this?"

"Hey, mom." He said, smiling. "I've already told you : as long as your happy, everything is okay. You have been miserable for way too long, and you finally look at peace with yourself. So of course I'm happy for you."

"That's sweet, kid." I said, feeling deeply proud of my son because he was such a kind young boy. "And I'm honestly happy. But I wanna know _your_ opinion. And I mostly want to talk with you about the little one coming into our lives. I want to make sure that you understand why I chose to give you up for adoption and I want to raise this one."

I placed a hand on my rounded out stomach to illustrate my words. I was only six months pregnant, but the baby was already taking a lot of place. I was actually feeling huge and heavy most of the time, but luckily, Killian was always there to comfort me. He was always whispering in my ear that I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and I could tell he wasn't lying to reassure me. He was actually thinking it. And it made me feel so much better about myself.

"I get it, mom." He said, frowning. "We talked about it hundreds of times : you wanted to give me my best chance."

"I know, and it's true. It's because I've loved you since the moment I saw you for the first time that I decided to give you away. You deserved to get a real shot in life. But don't try to tell me you didn't feel a bit left aside when we announced my pregnancy."

He looked at me with pure confusion, as if he didn't understand what I was talking about. I added with a smile, wanting to clarify my thoughts :

"Henry, I've been there. My parents gave me up, and I don't blame them anymore because I know now they didn't have a choice. It was me against an entire kingdom, and they had to protect their people. But I'm not going to lie to you : I've been upset when Mary-Margaret told me that she wanted another child. I felt like I wasn't good enough for my parents and that they wanted to try again and have the perfect kid. I wondered for a bit why I hadn't had the chance to have my parents with me growing up, and this child could. I felt unloved and unimportant for so long. These thoughts didn't last long, and I love Neal so much, he's such a lovely little guy. But I would have liked for my parents to talk to me about this decision, I wished that they had reassured me and told me they loved me. But I'm a big girl, and they didn't bother doing it. But you, you're still a child. And I want to talk to you about it, I want to assure you that I don't love this kid more than you : you're both my children, I love you so much, and I haven't gave you up because you didn't matter. I gave you up because I felt like you were important enough to deserve a real chance since I was still a child myself when I had you. I just don't want you to suffer like I did."

"I didn't know you felt this way." He said with a worried look on his face.

"Henry, this is not about me. I'm fine. I just want you to tell me if you feel the same way. We're in the same situation, so I would understand, you know..."

"I… I don't know." He stuttered, staring at the park in front of him as if he was concentrating on what I had just said. "I'm really happy to have a sibling. And our situations aren't that similar, really. I mean, I've been adopted. I didn't feel unwanted as much as you probably did, given the fact that you grew up in the system."

"You're right, kid." I admitted with a nod. "I just want to make sure that you're happy. This time, this child has everything. I have a job, a family, the dad is there with me. When I learned that I was pregnant with you, I was only a teen, I was in jail, I didn't have a job or a place to live, no one I could rely on. I just wanted you to be happy."

"I know mom, and I am. This family is bigger that I could have ever imagined. And I found you. We're together now. That's what matters, right?

"You're a great optimistic, aren't you?" I said with a smile before turning to face him.

I wrapped my arms around him, trying to show him how proud I was of him. I pulled away after a few seconds and kept one of my hand on his shoulder. I smiled at him and said gently :

"I love you so much, kid."

"I love you too, mom."

He smiled back at me and we stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, eating our sweets. I took a moment to enjoy the delightful sensation of the melted chocolate on my tongue.

"And you've never talked about it with Grandma or Grandpa?" My son suddenly started again.

"Huh?" I asked absent-mindlessly, lost into my thoughts.

"You've never talked with them about your feelings?" He insisted, and I turned to face him again with a little wince :

"Henry, I'm a grown-up. They didn't need to talk about that with me. I didn't have the right to interfere with their choice."

"But they've hurt you! You've suffered because of that. You should talk to them, tell them how you feel, we are a family..."

"It was a long time ago, Henry, and it didn't last long. I know they love me. I don't want to stir up the past. It's done, I'm fine and I love my little brother.

"If you say so..."

I glanced at him, a bit surprised that he wasn't trying to argue more. He simply smiled at me in an innocent way, and I gave up, deciding to enjoy my son's company instead of thinking about the past.

* * *

"You know what, mom? I'm not against these kind of conversations. You can talk to me whenever you want."

"You're saying that for the sweets, aren't you?" I asked with a smile, stopping the car in front of our house where Killian was probably waiting for us.

"That plays a big part in my opinion, yeah" He answered with a mischievous smile.

I laughed at his comment. We had spent such a wonderful afternoon, laughing together and eating until we got a stomach ache. I had seen my son deeply happy, and I had really enjoyed these moments spend with each other. I had missed our laughter, and it had been a while since we had spent a few moments together without being interrupted by a crisis of some sort.

"I'm really happy to have spent this time with you, kid." I said with a smile.

"Me too, mom." He replied before going out of the car.

I followed him while an unpleasant rain was pricking my face. It was really cold now, and we had decided to shorten our afternoon a bit because of the weather. I had gotten pretty sick after my panic attack two weeks prior (it wasn't a big surprise, really), and I was just starting to get better. Killian was already way to worried to see me go out of the house in the cold again, and I hadn't wanted to make him more anxious.

Lost into my thoughts, I looked at my son as he was walking toward the door. I suddenly had an idea, and I said, hastening my step to get close to him and protect myself from the rain :

"Hey, Henry?"

"Yeah?"

"I promise you that when the baby will be born, we're still gonna have these kinds of moments, just the both of us, okay? Your sibling isn't gonna change anything between us."

"It better!" He said playfully.

I shook my head, amused by his reaction, and followed him inside the house, closing the front door behind me. At the time I had took off my coat, he was already enthusiastically talking to Killian, and I joined them on the living room. I held back a bit, not wanting to break their moment together. Killian had really become a father figure for Henry, and I was so happy to see them so close. Hook was often taking him to sail on the Jolly Roger, and they were regularly spending a few hours just the both of them. A real trust had grown between them, and it really made me feel happy and proud. Killian was going to be the best dad ever, I could tell by the way he was acting with Henry and the love he already had for our unborn child. After a few minutes, my son got off the couch to go into his room, and I walked toward the sofa to sit down next to Hook

"How did it go?" He asked with a smile while I brushed my wet hair behind my shoulder.

"What do you think?" I answered, looking at him with a little smirk

"He seems really happy, so I'd say it did go well."

"Good call."

I stopped talking for a couple of seconds and put one of my leg underneath myself to turn and face Killian. I had an idea, seeing my son and my fiancé so close, and I wanted to find the best words to explain it :

"Babe?"

"Aye, love?"

"So as you know, I just talked with Henry and he assured me that he was happy to have a sibling, but..."

"You're worried?" He guessed, gently smiling at me.

"I just… I see you two together, and you seem so close, and I don't want this to change because you're going to have your own child. He really does like you, you know. I want you both to keep your moments together even when the baby will be born..."

"Because you thought I was planning on stopping them?" He asked, looking a bit surprised by my words.

"No, I trust you. I know you like him too. It's just… I'm scared that everything will change when you'll have a child of your own. He really sees you as a father figure, and I want him to be able to rely on you anytime..."

"Who do you think I am, Swan?" He asked, looking a bit upset.

"I just want him to be happy. And I'm worried about all the changes he has to face at the moment." I said, looking gently at him to make him understand that my demand wasn't induced by a lack of trust.

"Okay, Swan, I get it. But you have to know that at this point, I kinda consider Henry as my son too. I love this kid, he's awesome. But I really don't know if I should be upset by your lack of trust in me, or proud because our child is going to have the best mother that has ever existed." He added in a serious way.

I rolled my eyes, realizing that he was gently teasing me. He laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders to pull me closer to him. I finally smiled, unable to stay annoyed at him, and placed one of my hand on his stomach.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of the lad."

"Thanks, Killian." I said before kissing him on the cheek. "It really means a lot to me, and to him."

"I will teach him how to be a good sailor." He resumed with laughter in his voice.

"I'd rather not." I said, laughing out loud at his teasing.

"I'll teach him a bunch of stuffs. And to the little one too. It's gonna be great, you'll see."

"Hook, I would really like to keep my son as he is. Don't change him into a monster, please." I scoffed.

"Are you calling me a monster?" He said, looking falsely upset.

"No, Let's just say that one sailor in my life is enough."

I turned to face him with a big smile, and he laughed before getting closer to me to press his lips against mine.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it, see you Friday! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to oncer4life11, Emilee Amethyst and EF22 for their reviews!**

* * *

"Pongo! Pongo!"

Our screams were ringing into the quiet of the night, bouncing against the trees and forming a spooky echo that was giving me the shiver. We were walking around the forest for several hours already, and the dog we were looking for seemed to have disappeared. He had escaped from Archie's around noon, and our friend had asked us to help him find the dog. Everyone liked Pongo in this town, and I was really hoping he was safe.

"Emma!" My dad called, and I turned back from the bush I was looking at. "It's pitch-black now, we can't see anything anymore. We can't keep on looking in these conditions."

"Your father is right. It's way too dark now." My mom added.

I frowned and started biting my thumb's nail without really realizing it. I really wanted to find the dog and help Archie. He was really worried, and it was my job to help him. I thought for a couple of seconds before answering :

"Okay, you know what? You can go. I can manage the researches alone. I'm going to stay for a little while longer."

"Emma, it's freezing." Hook said, rolling his eyes.

He was now officially working with my family in the sheriff station, and was helping us in our tasks. He was already looking a bit concerned that I was in the cold because I was pregnant, but he seemed absolutely outraged by my proposition. I placed my hands on my hip and turned to face him :

"And…?" I asked as a provocation, knowing all to well why he was saying this.

"And?" He repeated, shaking his head in disbelief."You're six months pregnant! You can't stay alone in the dark while it's absolutely freezing. Something could happen to you. We're going to find the bloody dog, he can stay outside for a night..."

"But if he crosses the town line, we will never find him!" I objected, turning toward my parents to seek their support.

But they didn't seem to agree with me. I sighted, tired of their consideration. I really wasn't in the mood today and I was feeling like I could start yelling at any time because of the frustration.

"Hook is right, Emma." My dad said with a nod. "We're going to resume the researches tomorrow morning. You shouldn't even be here by this cold. You could get sick."

"I'm not made out of glass." I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Maybe not, but I don't want you to get sick again." Killian said, looking at me defiantly. "You know it's for your own good. So, are you coming? You know we won't let you be until you come back home."

I glanced at him with pure annoyance. I couldn't stand someone telling me what to do, and it was happening constantly now that I was pregnant. I was usually kindly asking my close ones to leave me be, but this time, I was in a really bad mood and I didn't feel like arguing with them or I would start yelling and it wouldn't solve anything.

"Well okay, I see that everyone is against me." I said dryly.

Without looking at them, my chin up to show that I was angry, I walked toward the yellow bug and sat down behind the wheel without waiting for Hook. He joined me inside the car a couple of seconds later, and looked at me with concern. I started the car without saying anything, and sighted loudly to show him how annoyed I was. I was really worried for the dog, and I was so sick of people treating me like a damsel in distress.

"We will find him eventually, love. I'm sure of it." Killian started after two minutes spent in a perfect quiet.

My eyes on the road, I didn't answer anything. I was still mad at him, and I was trying to focus in order not to get us killed. The road was really dark, and the thick fog was preventing me from seeing my father's trunk, which was only a few feet ahead of us.

"Okay, I see. You're not talking to me anymore?" He asked, sounding a bit annoyed by my childish behavior. "Are you really that mad?"

"I'm just sick of people treating me like a child." I snapped, still looking at the road. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. And I would like to be allowed to do my job, if it isn't too much to ask. It's not because I'm pregnant that I"m suddenly a tiny little creature you have to keep safe from the world."

"I know, Emma. You're one of the strongest person I have ever met." He said gently. "We're not doing that because we think you're weak. We're doing that because we want you and the little one to be safe and well. You can understand that, right?"

I nodded slowly without answering right away. I knew he was right. He was only doing that because he loved me. The truth was that I had been in a bad mood all day, and I didn't know why I was attacking him like that. Sure, he was a little overprotecting, but he was so sweet all the time, making sure that I had all I wanted and that I was feeling good.

"Yeah..." I finally sighted. "Sorry, Killian. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"It must be the hormones." He gently teased me.

I smiled for the first time in hours, feeling suddenly so much better. He was always there for me, and didn't mind my horrible mood. He was so sweet about all of this. The truth was that I wasn't used to have someone caring about me that much, and it was a bit weird for me. I looked away from the road for a brief second to meet his gaze. He smiled back, and was the first to look at the road again. I immediately saw his eyes widen and he yelled :

"Emma!"

Triggered by his voice, I snapped my head toward my dad's truck and saw a dalmatian staying right in the middle of the road, frozen by the fear. I wasn't driving that fast, but I knew I didn't have the time to stop before hitting him. In a reflex, I aimed the wheel to the right to avoid the dog and save his life.

But I didn't plan for the ice patch that was laying on the road. My car slid on it, and got out of control. My eyes widened as I tried to take the yellow bug on the road again. It seemed like an eternity to me, but I knew it was happening in a matter of seconds. My car eventually hit a tree with great violence. My head got projected against the wheel, before hitting the driver's window. The crash had been really hard, and I felt a great pain in my head. I didn't have the time to realize what was really happening before losing consciousness.

* * *

 _I'm slowly regaining consciousness, but don't open my eyes. My head is killing me. I don't know where I am, and I'm scared, because I don't know where the pain is coming from. I end up opening my eyes, and my head hurts me a little bit more. I'm laying on my side on the ground, on recovery position. Everything is dark around me. I can't think straight anymore. I'm cold, I'm shaking. I hear an alarm ringing in the distance._

 _"Emma?"_

 _A familiar voice sounds above my head. I feel someone squeezing my hand, but I seem unable to say something._

 _"Emma, sweetheart, if you can hear us, please talk to us." Another voice says._

 _I recognize Killian's voice, and it comforts me. I'm not alone. But I can't talk, it hurts too much. The pain seems to get stronger and stronger. So I close my eyes..._

* * *

I suddenly opened my eyes, unable to recall anything that had happened earlier. I was lying on something, and I was feeling belts tightened around my stomach and my chest. The white ceiling, the howling alarms, the noises of the engine and the bumps that the vehicle was taking were telling me that I was in an ambulance, but I didn't know what I was doing there.

I didn't know what was going on. I had a horrible headache and a hot flush made me wince. Distraught and terrified, I turned my head to see what was happening around me. The movement made my head hurt and I whined from the pain.

I immediately felt a hand grabbing mine, and I looked up to see Killian's face staring at me with great worry. I could see he had cried because of his red eyes. I still didn't know what I was doing there, but seeing him made me feel better, and I stopped moving to squeeze his fingers between mine.

"Calm down, baby, I'm here..."

I nodded and saw a tear streaming down his face. My mouth was dry and my head was so painful I was feeling like I could start screaming. He saw that I was in pain because he said, gently rubbing my hand with his thumb :

"What's wrong, love? Where does it hurt?"

"What happened?" I asked in a slurred speech.

I was already feeling exhausted. But I wanted to have some answers. I wanted to know what was going on, why I was in an ambulance and why he seemed so worried for me.

"You don't remember?" He asked with a frown. "We were in a car crash, darling."

It took some time for the information to reach my brain. I wanted to ask him if the baby was okay, if he was okay, what exactly had happened to us, but I was feeling like I couldn't fight against the exhaustion for much longer.

"How…?"

I couldn't even finish my sentence. I felt my head falling on my side. I didn't even have enough strength to keep it straight. Killian seemed deeply worried and let go of my hand to gently run his hand through my hair.

"I will explain everything to you later. But you have to sleep now, okay? You need to rest."

I didn't have the time to nod because I had already fallen asleep.

* * *

First, a buzzing sound ringing in my ear, then the antiseptic smell of a hospital. I could feel a hand holding mine. I opened my eyes and the harsh light of the neon tubes blinded me for a second. My head was killing me. I tried to ignore the pain and turned my head to see who was at my side. Killian was sitting on a chair next to me, and his fingers were intertwined with mine. He was lost in his thoughts and didn't seem to have noticed that I was awake. I gently squeezed his fingers between mine, and he immediately turned to look at me with relief :

"You're finally waking up! We were so worried..."

"We?" I asked, trying to move but the pain stopped me from doing anything.

"Your parents are here. Regina and Henry too. They went to get something to eat in the cafeteria..."

I suddenly remembered everything and flashes came before my eyes. The crash, the dog, the pain, me passing out...

"Killian..." I cut him off in a shaking voice. "Is the baby okay? Tell me it's okay, I cant..."

I knew I couldn't have stood hurting the baby. I was driving, and it was my fault if we had had the accident. I shouldn't have looked away from the road. And now, my baby could be in danger. It had to survive this. There was no other choice.

"It's fine, Emma." He said with a sad smile, and I could see he was still worried. "You had an ultrasound while you were passed out. It's more than fine, actually, it's in perfect shape. You're the one who took most of the shock..."

"And how are you?" I asked, looking at him carefully to make sure he was okay. "Are you hurt? I'm so sorry, Killian. I didn't mean to..."

"I'm fine!" He said with a frown. "I didn't get hurt at all. But, Emma..."

"And what about the dog?" I cut him off once again.

"The dog?" He repeated, shaking is head in a confused way.

"Yeah, the dog. Pongo." I specified, not understanding why he was looking at me that way."

"I know what you're talking about, Swan..."

"I didn't hit him, right? Is he alive?"

"Emma!" He shouted in disbelief. "Have you gone mad? You're in a hospital bed, and you're worrying for a dog?!"

"What's wrong with that?" I asked in pure confusion.

"What's wrong? Swan, you're worrying about everyone's well-being except yours! You're the one who's laying on a bed, not me nor the bloody dog!"

I realized he was right and winced. It was normal for me to worry about him, but asking about the dog was a bit ridiculous as I was the one who was hurt. I smiled at him while he gently stroke my hand, and asked :

"Okay then, can you tell me why my head is hurting so bad?"

"The shock was quite violent, love" He said with a little sight. "Your head hit the wheel very hard. I know it, I was next to you. God, I was so scared..."

I saw tears shinning in his eyes and, unable to sit and comfort him, I dragged his hand toward my lips and kiss it gently. He gave me a sad smile and put his hand on my cheek.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Hey, it's not your fault." He said, running his hand through my hair. "Don't blame yourself."

"Is the situation really bad?" I asked, starting to get really worried about what was going to happen to me.

"We're waiting for some results. But if you're awake, it's a good sign. I'm just happy to talk to you. I was so scared you or the little one would be hurt."

I smiled, and, as if it had heard its father, the baby gave a huge kick. I gasped and placed my hand on my stomach, laughing a bit. It was clear it was okay, and I was so happy the crash didn't hurt it. I already loved it so much, I just wanted it to be all right.

"I think it's okay." I said to Killian, and he placed his hand on my belly before smiling back at me.

"That's good news, love. Look, I have to go and warn Whale you're awake. I have to tell your family too. It's a pity you woke up when they weren't there. They just wanted something to eat, and I didn't want to leave you all alone, so I didn't go with them. But they've stayed here all night long."

"All night long?" I repeated, alarmed. "I stayed passed out for so long?"

"Why do you think we were so worried about you?"

I didn't answer anything, and he sighted, his hand still on my stomach. He didn't seem to be wanting to go, and I wished he could have stayed as well. Feeling him near me made me feel safe. But he finally said with a sad smile :

"I'm going. I'll come back soon, I promise. Be good while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'll be a good girl." I answered with half a smile.

He leaned forward to press a kiss on my forehead. I felt the urge to ask him to stay with me. I didn't want to be alone in this cold room because I was scared. But I didn't say anything. I was to proud for it, and I knew he had to go. He smiled at me before stepping away, and I looked at him crossing the door without adding anything.

* * *

"Emma!"

I heard my mom coming into the room before seeing her. Before I could do anything, she was next to me and was pressing one of her hand against my forehead, as if she wanted to make sure I wasn't running a fever.

"We were so worried." My dad said, joining my mom next to my bed.

"Mom!" Henry shouted, grabbing my hand, and I could see he had cried.

"You've scared us to death." Regina added, even if she was standing a bit away from all the fuss.

Killian didn't say anything but went to sit on my bed and landed his hand on my knee. I smiled to my family, finally feeling safe and loved. But all the agitation made my headache worsen, and I couldn't help myself but wince.

"You're in pain?" Killian asked gently. "You want me to call a nurse?"

"Whale said he was coming. It's gonna be okay" My dad tempered in a gentle voice.

"I'm fine." I said with a little smile. "I'm just glad you're all safe, and the baby is okay."

"We saw the accident into the mirror, Emma." My mom said, anxiously biting her lower lips. "It was really violent. You avoided the worst, really..."

"What about my car?" I asked with a bit of sadness.

I was driving the yellow bug for so long that I couldn't imagine myself without it. It had been my home when I didn't have anything, and I was really attached to that car.

"Don't worry, the garage owner is taking care of it right now." My dad said with a smile. "It will be like a brand new car in no time."

I smiled back. I was already feeling much better with all the people I loved surrounding me. And aside from my headache, I was feeling fine. The baby was safe, Killian didn't get hurt in the crash, it could have been much worse.

Whale came into the room at that exact moment. He seemed kind of worried, but smiled anyway to comfort us, knowing that we were all waiting for his sentence.

"Very well, Emma." He started with a small smile. "Your results are very reassuring. However, I would like you to stay in the hospital for a little while..."

"Why?" Killian asked, grabbing my hand with a concerned look. "Is she okay?"

"We're suspecting a concussion. For Emma's and the baby's sake, we would like to keep them under observation for a few days. It's just to make sure everything is fine, there is nothing to worry about."

"Killian, I'm okay." I said gently to comfort him. "I will manage here for a few day, don't worry about me..."

"Hey, love." He answered, turning to face me with a kind smile. "There is no way I'm going to leave you here all alone. If you're staying, I'm staying."

His words made me happy. I wanted to play strong, but I was actually very glad he wanted to stay with me. I didn't want to stay alone, not after what had just happened.

"In case you haven't noticed, guyliner, there is only one bed in this room." Regina said, rolling her eyes, and that made me smile.

Seeing her behave like that was telling me that everything would go back to normal soon. Everyone was out of danger, and it was making me so relieved.

"If you think it's going to stop me." He answered, still staring at me with a smile.

"Thanks". I whispered.

My parents, Henry and Regina stayed for a few more hours before going away, promising that they would come back really soon. Once they had walked out the door, I felt really exhausted all of the sudden. I tried to stay awake for a bit. Killian and I were talking about funny things, and I didn't want our laughter to stop. But he noticed how tired I was, and he kissed my forehead before laying down on the bed next to me. I snuggled into his arms as he said :

"Sleep, darling. You need to rest. I'm staying, I promise."

I nodded, and he ran his hand though my hair until I had fallen asleep.

* * *

 **Thanks for the support, and see you monday! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to Emilee Amethyst, oncer4life11 and agentcarter45 for the reviews! Here's a Christmas chapter, I hope you'll like it! :)**

* * *

I hurried up to cross the front door of my parent's building, followed by Henry and Killian, looking down to try and protect myself from the snow that was covering the town and was still falling quite heavily. The light garlands were enlightening the landscape in this Christmas Eve. Storybrooke was transfigured and absolutely stunning, but I was happy to find myself in the warm of the building. I removed the snowflakes from my coat as Henry was already walking the stairs to go into my parents' apartment. They had invited us to come celebrate Christmas with them, Regina, Roland, Robin and his daughter. The little girl was going to turn one very soon, but Zelena hadn't came back from Oz to claim her girl back, and we were all quite happy about it.

Killian was waiting for me on the first step, glancing at me with the worried look he hadn't lost since the car crash. Three weeks had gone by, but I was still suffering from really heavy headaches and he was really worried about me. I was thinking he was a bit over protecting with me. I wasn't dying, even if I sometimes had to spend my day in bed because of the pain.

"Don't look at me like that." I said, walking past him with a little smile. "I promise you I feel fine and I'm not going to pass out."

"I prefer to make sure. And can you stop mocking me for once? It's Christmas, you're supposed to be nice with everyone."

He pouted and made his puppy face, and I burst out laughing. I was actually feeling quite good that night, and I was in a really good mood.

"You're right." I said while my smile widened. "It's my Christmas gift, I stop mocking you for a night. You're happy?"

He laughed as an answer and put his hand on the small of my back, following me in the stairs. We arrived in front of my parents' door right while my mom was greeting Henry with a big smile. She was overexcited about spending the evening with all of us. It was the first time we had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas without having to fight for our lives, and I was myself very happy about this.

"I'm so happy you're all here." She said, pulling me into a tight embrace. "And I'm so happy you're safe."

She was still a bit upset because of the accident, and was always making sure I was felling all right. I knew she had been really scared to see me in the hospital, and I was letting her take care of me without trying to fight back. After all, it was nice to have my mom by my side. I had dreamed about this all my life, and even if being the daughter of Snow Withe and Prince Charming wasn't what I had expected, I was happy to finally have people caring about me.

"I'm fine, mom." I said, pulling away with a smile. "And the baby is more than fine as well. With the kicks it's giving me, it's even training to be a karate master."

As if it was trying to illustrate my words, the baby kicked once again. I didn't even flinch because it was happening so often these past few weeks. I knew it meant it was in good shape, but sometimes, I wished it had been a bit calmer. Between that and my headaches, I could barely sleep at night and I was exhausted. I was seeing the bags that were growing under my eyes days after days. I hadn't said anything to Killian in order not to worry him even more, but I was feeling like I couldn't stay without sleep for much longer, especially now that I couldn't drink coffee anymore.

"Maybe we're expecting a little pirate." Killian intervened, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"I hope not, I have quite enough with one in my life." I answered playfully with half a smile.

"I thought you said you would stop mocking me." He said, looking falsely upset.

"Damn it. Can we restart like nothing happened?" I asked while he burst out laughing.

I smiled at him and greeted all my friend, as we were the last ones to arrive. I eventually hugged my dad, who was holding my little brother in his arms. I asked him to hold the baby, and took him against me. The little boy smiled at me and wrapped his little arms around my neck. Since I had learned I was pregnant, I had spent much more time with Neal, and we had gotten quite close. I had a baby in the family to practice my skills with children, so I had decided to enjoy this opportunity. I had babysat him quite often these past few months. I had to admit he was absolutely adorable and I really liked to take care of him. Even if I was still scared to be a bad mom, my little brother's affection was comforting me a lot, and I was so happy to finally spend time with him after everything that had happened.

"How are you, sweetie?" I asked, rocking him against my chest. "You're happy it's Christmas?"

Neal mumbled something as an answer and I laughed before pressing a kiss on his forehead. The guests sat down on the living room's couch and I was surprised to see that Killian was still next to me and was looking at me in a serious way.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not understanding his expression.

"Are you allowed to lift weight during the pregnancy?" He asked with a frown.

"If I feel good, I don't see why not" I replied, gently petting my brother's cheek.

"You're seven months pregnant, Swan. In the beginning of the pregnancy, I guess it was okay, but now it's a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

I noticed he was really worried, and smiled at him in a comforting way. His concerns were really bugging me sometimes, but I could understand him. I was the one who was pregnant, I was able to feel if the baby was okay or not. He didn't know any of this, and he was worried because he was already loving this kid so much.

"They are plenty of women who have kids and lift them up during the pregnancy, and they are more than fine. And it's not like I was doing it all day long. And I want to spend a little time with my little brother. Besides, I have to train to be able to take care of our child."

He smiled but still seemed a bit skeptic. I sighted and added, shaking my head.

"We can ask my mom if you don't believe me. Hey, mom?"

"Yes, honey?" She said, turning back to look at us.

"Would you say it's okay for me to take Neal in my arms if I'm feeling good today?"

"I've never had to lift a child while I was pregnant, but as far as I know, since you're not living a high-risk pregnancy and therefore there are no dangers of medical complications, I think you can."

"See?" I said to Killian with a smile before heading for the sofa without waiting for his answer.

I sat down next to Henry, who was talking with Regina, and started teasing my brother by tickling him. He answered by little screams and laughter, and I smiled back at him. I was really happy to be able to play my big sister's part more seriously. With all the problems we had had to face before, I hadn't had the time to take care of him a lot, and I was now happy to spend time with him. If I had been a bit upset when my mom had said she wanted another kid when we were in Neverland, I loved my brother very much. We were born thirty years apart, and I wanted him to trust me. I wanted to be this grown-up he would talk to when he would be older and wouldn't want to talk with my parents about something.

Killian ended up sitting down next to me on the armrest, and I looked up to look at him in the eyes. He was staring at me with a gentle smile, and seemed a bit lost in his thoughts.

"Do you want to hold the baby?" I offered.

His eyes widened and he seemed a bit scared by my proposition. He looked at Neal with worry, as if my brother was going to bite him, and shook his head.

"No, that's okay. You're...good with him."

"You're aware he's not dangerous, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I hope it's not what you're going to say when the baby will be born."

"She's right, Hook. It is not something to say to a woman." My dad laughed.

I laughed quietly but glanced at Killian with a worried look. I was so scared to be a bad mom, and I was starting to think he was feeling the same way. I could actually understand the fact he was afraid to hurt Neal, because he didn't know how to take care of a baby either. So I smiled at him and said gently :

"You sure you don't want to take him? It's a good training for when the baby will be there, you know."

"Maybe later." He said, glancing around him. "When they will all stop staring at me like that."

Everyone was indeed listening to us and seemed to be waiting for something to happen. I laughed and stated, amused :

"Now that you said that, they are not going to leave you be."

'She's right." Regina said with a shrug, holding baby Robyn in her arms. "You're going to be the center of the evening."

"Great." Killian grunted, and I laughed once again.

* * *

"So guys, we bought a bottle of champagne… who wants a glass?" My mom asked as she got up the sofa to head for the kitchen.

I had let go of Neal and he was playing with Robyn and Roland on the floor at our feet. I was talking with my dad, but I saw that no one was planning on helping my mom, so I smiled to the guests and followed her into the kitchen.

"Want some help?" I offered, leaning against the counter.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, looking surprised as she turned back to face me.

I smiled and got closer to one of the cabinet to get some glasses and put them next to the stove.

"Nobody seemed to get up, so I thought you needed some help as you don't have six arms."

"That's not really fair." She stated while shaking her head. "You're the pregnant one, and you come to offer me your help while the others are talking on the sofa."

"That's fine." I said with a smile. "I'm happy to help you. What do you want me to do?"

She grinned and showed me the bottle of champagne as she was arranging some appetizers on a silver plate. I took the bottle in my hands to open it, and sighted quietly, knowing that I wouldn't be able to drink any of it. I had to admit it, not being allowed to drink alcohol was a bit annoying, especially now that everyone was celebrating the end of the year.

"I'll tell you what's unfair." I resumed in a teasing tone. "I'm sentenced to drink orange juice, and that's cruel."

"Don't worry" She gently scoffed. "You won't be the only one : the kids can't drink alcohol either."

"That's really comforting, thank you." I said with a laugh.

I eventually managed to get the cork out with a brief but loud noise, and said to the others guests who were still in the living room :

"You're all drinking, I suppose?"

"Everyone except you." Robin replied with a laugh, as if he had read my thoughts.

"Tell me about it, I feel like I'm six again." I said, laughing as well.

"You know what, Swan?" Hook then intervened. "I'm going to do without the alcohol tonight."

I put the bottle back on the counter and turned to look at him in disbelief. I was really surprised by his words. He was a former pirate, I knew he liked his rum, and as long as he wasn't getting drunk (thing that had never happened since he had learned I was pregnant, as we were mostly getting drunk together before), I was more than okay with it. And we were celebrating Christmas, so I wasn't expecting that.

"Seriously? You're not gonna drink tonight? Not even a little bit of rum after the meal? But why?" I added with a frown as he was shaking his head.

"Well, let's just say that's it's only fair as we are both having a child. It's normal that if you can't drink anything, me neither. It's not because you're the one who is pregnant that I can't support you with that."

He shrugged, and I looked at him with a small smile. It wasn't much, but I was deeply moved by his proposition. I knew how much he liked his rum, and he wanted to support me until the very end. He wanted to show me that, even if I was the one bearing our child for nine months, he was there to support me and make things a little easier for me. I remembered how alone I was when I was pregnant with Henry, and I felt my heart skip a beat from the happiness I suddenly felt.

"If it isn't love." Henry scoffed, driving me away from my thoughts.

"Stop mocking him, you." I said, laughing. "You sure, Killian? It's really sweet, but I'm okay, I swear."

"It sounds like he's making the most important decision in his life." Regina said, rolling her eyes.

"Regina, we're talking about his rum." Robin replied seriously.

I decided to ignore them as they didn't understand how nice Killian was about me being pregnant. Smiling, I left the kitchen to get near him and I wrapped my hands around his neck. I smiled and he grinned back, putting his hand on my waist.

"Thank you." I whispered. "It means a lot. I love you."

"You're more important than a drink." He shrugged, and I felt a little pinch in my chest from how adorable his comment was.

"He gave up his rum for a night, he didn't save a life." Regina said with an annoyed look.

I ignored her once again and got closer to Killian to press a kiss on his lips.

"Oh, get a room." Robin scoffed.

"You've made a bet with Regina to know which one of you is going to be the most annoying tonight?" I replied, pulling away from Killian.

"Are we supposed to get upset about this?" Regina asked with a frown.

"Let's just say we had it coming." Robin answered, and everyone laughed once again.

* * *

"Aside from that, how are you felling, Emma?" My mom asked kindly.

She was cooking the chocolate cake that was planned for desert, while I was cutting some vegetables. The others guests were still in the living room, and we were alone in the kitchen. Cooking had never been my strong suit, but for once, it wasn't bothering me at all. I was enjoying that time alone with my mother. I could talk to her without being interrupted, and it didn't happen really often.

"I'm good." I answered with a smile to erase her worried look.

"Really? No more headaches?" She asked in a skeptic way.

"I still have them." I admitted, biting my lower lips. "But I feel fine today. And aside from that, everything is great."

I yawned and tried to hide it behind my hand while I was finishing my sentence. My mom stared at me with attention and said gently.

"You seem tired..."

"Should I take that the wrong way?" I joked with the hope to change the subject, but it wasn't possible with my mom and her insistence to know everything.

"Seriously, honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I said with a comforting smile. "It' just that between my headaches and the baby who is kicking all the time, I can't sleep that well. But it will get better soon, I know it. It's just a difficult time right now."

"Have you talked about it with Killian?" She asked, looking concerned. "He could help you, you know..."

"No, I don't want to worry him even more than he already is." I confessed. "But it's not a big deal. I'm just tired, I've been before, I think I will survive this."

I finished cutting the vegetables and took one of the tomato's slice to eat it. I tried to fight against the urge to eat the all bowl, suddenly starving, and stepped away to pull myself together.

"Okay, what do you want me to do, now?" I asked with a smile.

"Nothing at all." She said, raising an eyebrow at me. "You've already done way too much."

"Come on, mom!" I shouted, laughing. "Let me help you! I'm happily doing it, and you can't do everything by yourself!"

She looked at me defiantly and talked a bit louder to say :

"David! You should be ashamed of yourself! You're letting your pregnant daughter cooking while you're on the sofa drinking champagne."

"I'm so sorry!" He said with a guilty look, getting up to join us. "I'm gonna help you."

I burst out laughing seeing my dad looking so guilty. My mom gave me a victorious smile and said :

"See? Go rest now."

"I'm not made out of glass, mom." I objected with a sight.

"You're a guest, you're not supposed to help me!"

"It doesn't bother me at all!" I shrugged.

"Very well, you're forcing me to be tough. Sit down, don't move." She said, pointing toward the kitchen's counter.

I laughed aloud and obeyed to my mom, aware that I didn't have a choice and she wouldn't let me do anything else. Sitting on the counter, I swung my legs back and for as my dad asked :

"what do you want me to do?"

My mom poured the cake batter into the cake mould before answering :

"Put the turkey in the oven. Here we go, Emma, you can eat the rest of the batter if you want to."

She gave me the bowl and looked at me in a serious way. I couldn't help myself but laugh because of her proposition. I wasn't a four-year-old, I wasn't asking to eat that. She looked at me in a confused way, and I took the bowl to put it on my lap and put both of my hands on it.

"You're aware that I'm a grown-up, right?"

"Yes, honey" she said with a smile, finally understanding my reaction. "I was just thinking maybe you have cravings for sweet because of the pregnancy?"

"How could I?" I said, laughing. "I haven't tasted that thing once in my life!"

My dad stopped what he was doing to look at me, imitating my mom who was suddenly staring at me as if I had just said the most shocking thing ever. I shook my head, not getting why they were acting like that, and asked :

"What did I say?"

"How comes you've never eaten that kind of stuff?" My dad said, his eyes widened. "You grew up in this world. Every kid has already tasted a cake batter."

"I've never had the opportunity to do so." I shrugged casually. "When I was a kid, we were only having cake for very special occasions. You know, it's not easy in the foster system. And it was always the favorite who had the right to eat the batter."

"And it's never happened to you?" My mom asked in a muffled voice.

"Mom, let's get real. I've never been the favorite, except with Ingrid, and it was only because she thought I could replace her sister. She didn't love me for myself. That's why I've never got adopted."

I had looked down to inspect the bowl, and when I looked up, I saw that my parents were still staring at me. My dad was looking deeply sad, and I could see tears in my mom's eyes.

"What's wrong?" I said, not getting why they were looking so upset.

But I suddenly understood what was bugging them. They were feeling guilty because of what I had said. It wasn't my intention, and I resumed hastily, wanted to take back my words :

"It's not what I meant, I didn't want you to feel bad..."

My parents didn't answer right away, and I got really worried. I put one of my hand on my mom's arm, saying :

"I'm so sorry, guys. I shouldn't have said that. Let's forget about that, okay?"

"We're the ones who are sorry, baby." My mom said, smiling sadly at me, and I shook my head, not understanding her words. "You've lived that kind of things because of us, and..."

"It's in the past!" I cut her off gently." My childhood wasn't the best, but it's behind me. I've found you, it's what's important, right? Look at us. We're celebrating Christmas all together, and the family is going to grow again very soon. We're happy now. You don't have to feel guilty, please."

"But Emma..."

"I'm being honest here. I'm just happy I've found you guys."

My mom smiled at me, and gently took me into her arms. My dad came and joined us after a few seconds, and I buried my head in their shoulders.

"We're so happy you're here with us." My dad said as I pulled away from them. 'We love you so much..."

"I know." I replied with a smile. "I love you too, and I'm so glad to have found a family."

My mom kept my hands between hers for a few more seconds before letting go of me. She said, pointing at the bowl, her casualness back :

"Dig in."

I laughed and obeyed, taking the wood spoon that was still in the bowl to put it in my mouth. I was surprised by the sweetness of what I had just eaten, and I pressed my hand against my lips with a laugh

"So?" My mom asked, laughing as well.

"Well, we can say it's sweet." I said after swallowing what I had in my mouth.

"Do you like it?"

"I think you've noticed I had some cravings for sugar. It's delicious."

"Good." She said with an innocent look. "At least, when you eat, you're not trying to help me."

I tried to give her an annoyed look but couldn't help myself but laughing. This evening was going to be lovely, I could tell.

* * *

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, I was watching the kids who were playing with toys beside me with a smile. Roland leaned to help his sister put a wooden block on top of the tower they had built together.

"Good job!" I congratulated the little girl when she had managed to put the cube where she wanted to.

I winked at Roland and he smiled at me from ear to ear. I glanced at my friends, who were sitting at the table and were talking to each other. After eating the appetizer, I had seen the kids getting up to play and had guessed someone had to watch them to make sure they didn't go into any troubles. I had offered to do the job, and I was sitting there for half an hour now. My family weren't paying attention to us, but it wasn't bothering me. I was actually having a great time with the children : they were adorable.

"Go for it, Neal." I said, giving one of the wooden blocks to my brother, who was sitting next to me.

He looked at me in mischievous way and kicked into the tower. The cubes hit the ground with a loud noise and Robyn and Roland burst out laughing. I laughed as well and took my baby brother on my lap to tickle him.

"You made everything fall down!" I said while my brother was laughing really hard.

I felt that someone was looking at me and turned my head to see that Killian was staring at us with a strange look. I stopped tickling Neal and looked at him to quietly ask him why he was looking at me that way. He shook his head, smiled, and got off his seat to join us. He put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up, grinning.

"According to Neal's laugh, you are having fun." he said, gently playing with my hair.

I let my brother go and join the other kids, and I turned to face Killian. He squatted, smiling at me and put his hand on my cheek. I pushed my face against his palm, enjoying the warm contact of his skin against mine.

"I know you're going to protest, but be careful, okay? I don't want one of the kids to kick you in the stomach." He whispered so I was the only one to hear him.

"I can feel the overprotecting father coming." I scoffed even I knew he was right, putting one of my hand on my stomach. "If you're like that now that it isn't even born yet, I don't want to imagine what you will be like when it will be there."

"You're definitely incapable of keeping your words to stop mocking me." He said with a falsely disapproving look.

"Sorry." I apologized with a little wince. "I couldn't help myself."

"It's okay." He smiled, running his hand through my hair. "I like it that way. You wouldn't be you otherwise."

"Kids! Come here, it's time to eat!" My mom said, interrupting the moment Hook and I were sharing.

"You're talking to Killian and I or the kids?" I asked, turning my head to look at my parents.

"To you two, of course."She replied seriously.

I laughed and Killian got up before reaching for my hand. I accepted his help with a smile. I was playing strong, but the baby's weight was starting to get quite heavy and my position wasn't the best to get on my feet easily.

He kept my hand between his as we were heading for the table and didn't let go when we sat down on our seats. I didn't say anything until I saw the other beginning to fill their plates, and I leaned forward to whisper in his ear :

"You do know I need both of my hands to eat, right?"

"Why?" He asked with a smile. "I manage with only one, you can do the same."

"I'm not as competent as you in that field, you know it." I replied with a little laugh.

His smile widened and I suddenly felt the urge to pull him to me and kiss him breathlessly. It was happening sometimes, that desire to be near him, to tell him how much I loved him as if it was the last time we were seeing each other. After everything we had been through, it was understandable. I was often scared about something happening to him, I was having horrifying nightmares were he was suffering, but he was always there to calm me down and tell me that everything was okay. I wanted to enjoy every second we were spending together as a gift because we had been separated way too many times. And sometimes, just like that, I wanted to take him into my arms because I was scared it was the last time.

But I knew it wasn't the right time or place for that. So I stroke his hand with my thumb one last time and shared a brief look with him. He seemed to understand all of my thoughts, as always, and looked at me with pure love in his eyes. Comforted, I turned back to take my plate and start to eat.

* * *

"Seriously Regina, a few years ago I would never have guessed we would soon be spending Christmas together." My mom stated with a laugh.

"Me neither." My friend smiled. "It's crazy how things have changed in such a little amount of time. But that's a good thing, right?"

The evening was slowly coming to an end. It was very late. Robyn was sleeping in her father's arms while Neal was slumbering in my mom's. I was really tired as well. The large meal and the late hour were making me sleepy. My head was leaning against Killian's shoulder and his left arm was around me while he had put his right hand on my stomach. I wasn't talking much. I was listening to my friends and was simply happy to be there with the people I loved.

"You all right?" Killian whispered, noticing that I was weirdly quiet.

"Mmm." I answered with a smile. "I'm just tired."

"You wanna go home now?" He offered.

"No, wait. I think I can stay awake for a little longer."

"You sure, darling? If you don't feel well, you have to rest."

"I feel fine, babe. The worst thing that could happen is me falling asleep."

He didn't answer but run his hand up and down my back and press his lips against my temple. I closed my eyes for a second and smiled, putting my hand on top of his on my belly.

"I know you both think you're subtle, but we can see what you're doing." Henry intervened playfully, and we both startled a bit.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not understanding my son's words.

"The super cheesy stuffs you're doing together, we can see them, you know."

"Well, Swan, I think I know where your son got his sass from" Killian said, referring to all my teasing.

"If it's in the genes, we're not going to laugh when the little one will be able to talk." I said, and everyone laughed at my sentence.

I glanced at Henry. He had grown up so much in such a short time. I couldn't believe he was still a little kid when he had come to Boston, and he was now becoming a man. He probably felt that someone was watching him, because he looked at me and smiled. I winked and his smile widened. He was growing up so fast, but I was feeling like I was getting closer and closer to him. I didn't know him as a kid, and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him now. I was so happy he was excited about having a sibling. I knew he was going to be a great big brother. He was already some kind of brother figure for Robyn and Roland, and I could see how great he was with the kids. I was so proud of him.

I turned my head to rest it on Killian's shoulder. I was so happy he was getting along with Henry. The both of them seemed to spend some quality time together, and it was a great thing, as Henry didn't have his father around. Killian was so good with my son, and he was looking so excited about becoming a father. Seeing how much he already loved the baby now that it wasn't even born yet, I could tell he was going to take good care of it. I loved this man so much it was feeling unreal sometimes.

I thought that despite my exhaustion, I was getting happier and happier. I smiled and snuggled into Killian's arms, deciding to stop thinking and completely enjoy these precious moments with my close ones.

* * *

 **Here we go! Friday you'll have a New year's Eve chapter! Hope to see you then!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to oncer4life11, agentcarter45, EF22 and Emilee Amethyst for the reviews!**

* * *

"Emma! Killian!" My mom shouted, seeing us crossing the door and entering the diner. "I'm so happy you could come!"

Granny's was absolutely crowded. A few of our friends waved at us as we were walking past them to go and join my mom, who was looking at us with a big smile on her face.

Granny had asked almost the entire town to come to the diner and celebrate New year's Eve all together. We had thought we wouldn't come at first because I had felt very bad all day long. I had been nauseous and dizzy, and had stayed in bed because I was feeling like I was going to pass out every time I had tried to stand up and get on my feet. I knew it was all because of my lack of sleep. I still couldn't sleep well, not really because of my headaches or the less frequent kicks from the baby, but because my rounded-out stomach was preventing me from finding a comfortable position in our bed. I had tried to persuade Hook to go to the party without me, because I hadn't wanted him to miss this moment because of me, but he had categorically refused my offer. He had said that there was no way he would have left me all alone on New year's Eve, and I had found his reaction adorable. Even if I wasn't the best company because I was feeling sick, he wanted to stay with me, always. Fortunately, I had started to feel much better toward the end of the afternoon, and I had insisted to come, even if Killian had thought for a while that it wasn't really reasonable as I was still feeling a bit unwell. But I really wanted to spend this moment with my family and friends, and he had understood that it was the first time I could really enjoy a new year party with the people I loved. He just wanted to make me happy, and he had accepted that we came as long as I would tell him right away if I was feeling sick.

"Are you feeling better?" My mom asked, embracing me gently.

"Much better" I answered with a nod and a smile. "I'll try to go easy on the efforts, though. I don't really want to collapse in the middle of the diner." I joked, but Killian seemed worried because he placed his hand on the small of my back as if he was trying to support me.

"You're right, you need to rest. Besides, you almost didn't eat anything at all today." He said with a little wince.

"Don't worry about that, there is plenty of food here." My mom smiled before turning to stare at me in a serious way. "But Emma, you need to eat for the baby, all right? You should go and get something to eat, then." She said when I had nodded, because I knew she was right.. "Honey, if you don't feel good, tell us right away, okay? I've warned Granny about you, and she said that if anything happens, you can go and lay down in one of the room."

"Thanks, mom. But I don't intend to feel down tonight." I said with a big smile, and I felt Killian's grip tighten around my waist.

"Good" She answered with a grin. "Come on, go and eat something. The baby needs it."

"Oh, don't worry!" I laughed. "Now that I don't feel nauseous anymore, I'm starving!"

"That's a good sign." Killian said, briefly pressing his lips against my temple.

He then pulled away a little bit to take my hand and drag me across the crowd. I walked into the mob, trying not to rush people on my way. We were stopped by several of our friends who wanted to say hi, and it's only ten minutes later that we managed to join the buffet. I sighted in relief and mumbled :

"That was a lot harder than expected."

I grabbed a plate and started to fill it in. All the food laying on the table in front of me was making my stomach rumble. I was very hungry. I was about to take a bit of meat lasagna when I got stopped by a familiar voice once again.

"Mom!"

I turned back and smiled at my son. He had stayed at Regina's all week, and I hadn't seen him all day. I wrapped my arms around him to greet him, and he resumed when I pulled away :

"I've heard you were sick earlier. You okay now?"

"I'm great, kid." I said with a smile to reassure him. "Don't worry about me."

"You sure? You seem tired." He insisted, looking worried.

"Believe me, if I wasn't feeling well, I wouldn't be here filling my plate. Come on, go have fun. You don't have to worry about me."

He happily nodded and disappeared into the crowd. I finally finished to fill my plate and followed Killian toward the bar where, without surprise, there weren't any empty seats left. I discreetly sighted and gazed at Killian. I was still feeling a bit weak, and staying on my feet wasn't a really good idea. I was starting to feel very hot and my legs were shaking because of the fact I hadn't eaten all day. I would have wanted to take off my coat and sit down to eat peacefully, but I didn't want to ask for someone to leave their seat. I didn't want to bother them and I was a bit too proud for that. But I also knew all too well I couldn't stay like that or I would collapse and miss the party.

"You all right?" Killian said, noticing that I was feeling unwell and wrapping his left arm around me to help me a little bit. "I'm going to ask for someone to get up, okay? You can't stay like that, you can't make any efforts right now."

I snuggled against his chest and didn't even think about protesting. I nodded slowly and he kissed the top of my head as if he wanted to encourage me. Luckily, we didn't have to do anything because my dad, who was sitting on a stool near the bar, saw us, and he immediately got up to give me his seat.

"Thanks." I said in relief, dropping my plate on the counter and taking off my coat.

I ran a hand through my hair with a little sight. A cold sweat had already started to cover my forehead. It was time for me to sit down. I didn't want to pass out, not tonight. I wanted to enjoy the evening with the people I loved.

"No problem, Emma." He said with a smile. "Give me your coat, I'm going to put it with the others."

I obeyed with a grateful grin and I stared at his back as he was awlking away from us. Killian moved to face me and looked at me in a worried way, and I tried to smile to comfort him.

"You all right, love? You feeling better?" He asked with a frown. "You're very pale."

"I'm okay, babe." I said, running my hand down his right arm before intertwining our fingers together. "I'll feel better when I'll have eaten, anyway. I'm really hungry now."

"You want me to go get us some drink?"

"Oh, yeah, that would be nice." I said, before grabbing his arm to prevent him from pulling away and adding with a smile. "And Killian?"

"Aye?" He asked, a bit surprised.

"You can drink alcohol, you know..."

"I've made you a promise, Swan!" He shouted instantly in an outraged way, and I couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"No, you haven't. You've made a promise for one night, and you've kept it. I get it, you want to support me, and I love that. But I don't want you to feel forced to do something because of me."

"I don't feel forced at all, Emma." He assured, gently rubbing my hand with his thumb. "Let's say that the pregnancy isn't going to well right now. You're not feeling well because you're bearing our child. It's only fair I show you I'm here for you, and..."

"But it's New Year's Eve!" I cut him off with a gentle smile. "If you wanna show me your support, you can do it any other day. But you can drop your promise for tonight. I'm the one offering, and I just want you to have fun."

He hesitated for a few more seconds, but he ended up smiling. He let go of my hand to put it on my cheek, and said :

"Very well, Swan. Your offer is accepted. I'll come back soon."

I giggled and he pressed a quick kiss on my lips before walking away from me. I immediately turned back to my plate and planted my fork into the meat lasagna, eager to finally eat something. I was so hungry I was literally feeling like I had a hole in my stomach. The first bite made me feel so much better and I had to hold back a satisfaction groan.

"By seeing you eating like that, I suppose you're feeling better?" A familiar voice rang behind my back.

"Looks like the entire town is aware of how I'm feeling today." I smiled and turned to face Regina, who was looking at me carefully.

"It's actually very likely." She said, finally smiling at me. "But if you're here, that means you're okay, it's a good thing. The pregnancy isn't going to well, is it?"

"I mean, that's okay." I shrugged. "Everyone feels bad from time to time, especially pregnant women. I'm just tired, but I'm pretty sure I'll survive this." I added playfully.

"Happy to hear that." She answered, a bit amused by my words. "I was just checking up on you. Robin is waiting for me, so I have to go. But make sure to tell us if you're feeling down, okay?"

I nodded, moved by her thoughtfulness, and waved at her as she walked away. Killian came back only a few seconds later with two glasses in his hand, one of orange juice and the other filled with a drink I identified as rum (no surprise here.)

"Are you okay?" I asked with a grin, seeing his exhausted look.

"I had to rush some people to get over there, but I gave the reason of a pregnant lady waiting for me, so I think I'm forgiven."

I laughed because of his joke, and he gave me the orange juice before drinking a bit of his alcohol. He was still looking a bit worried about me, and wrap his left arm around my waist to say :

"I'm glad to see you're not as pale as before. You're feeling better, right? I was really scared..."

"I know, I've noticed." I replied with a little smirk to give him his smile back. "But it happens to everyone to feel bad sometimes. It'll get better soon."

"I hope so." He said with a little smile.

I got closer to him, trying to comfort him a little bit. I was really happy we were here, despite the crowd and the din. It was the very first time I could celebrate new year's Eve with the people I loved, and I would have been really sad to miss the party. I glanced at Killian, who was still looking at me with worry in his eyes, and I wrapped my arm around him to put my head on his chest.

"Don't worry babe, I feel fine, now. I promise."

He nodded and pressed a kiss on my forehead, pulling me a little bit closer to him.

* * *

Standing in front of the mirror in the ladies room, I was carefully looking at my reflection and was reassured to note that I wasn't looking as tired as before. I was actually feeling much better since I had eaten something and all my energy was back. It was soon going to be midnight, and I had managed to stay on my feet for more than one hour straight, which was a really good sign. I washed my hands and ran my fingers through my hair to fix them. I looked into the mirror one last time, then crossed the door to go into the hall and join my friends in the main room.

My eyes immediately met Killian, who was casually leaning against the wall as if he was waiting for me. I smiled discreetly, a bit amused. He wasn't drunk at all, but he had drunk a lot of alcohol since the beginning of the evening, and was a bit tipsy. I had never told him that, but I had always found him quite funny when he had drunk a little bit. When he saw me, he bounced back from the wall and approached me with a charming smile.

"You were scared I would pass out in the bathroom?" I smiled, rubbing my wet hands against my jeans to dry them.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He answered in a low voice

He barely finished his sentence and pulled me closer to him. He placed his hand in the small of my back and started kissing me slowly. I smiled trough our kisses, enjoying this moment, and ran my right hand through his hair. But after a few minutes, I ended up pulling away from him and said breathlessly :

"What are you doing? As much as I love this, we have to go and join the others. They are gonna wonder where we..."

He didn't let me finish and cut me off with another kiss. His gesture was so passionate that my back hit the wall behind me. I laughed and my left hand started to draw circles on his chest. He moaned, but when I felt his hand starting to make its way under my red blouse, I finally stopped him.

"Easy, cow boy." I giggled, licking my lips. "We're not alone here, in case you haven't noticed."

"I know that." He said with a mischievous smile, his fingers resuming their stroke on my skin, and I had to hold back a moan.

"Wait for us to be home, then." I replied with a smile, grabbing his hand to put it back over my shirt.

"Where is your risk appetite, princess?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"My risk appetite is fine, thank you very much. I think it's your sense of responsibility that has disappeared when you've drunk you first glass of rum." I scoffed.

"Very funny." He said in a falsely offended way.

"Don't look at me like that." I laughed, taking his hand and intertwining our fingers together. "Come on, it's almost midnight. I really don't want to miss that."

I didn't let him answer, and dragged him behind me toward the main room. We walked across the crowd and finally joined my parents, who smiled at us when we arrived.

"We were wondering where you were." My dad said, staring at us in a suspicious way.

I bit my lower lip, trying not to laugh. My dad had always been way too overprotective with me, but if he had knew what Killian had wanted to start a few minutes prior, he would have freaked out for hours.

"Killian just wanted to make sure I was okay." I said with my best innocent smile.

"You do look a lot healthier." My mom intervened, guessing that it wasn't a good idea to keep talking about what Hook and I had done.

"Eating made me feel a lot better." I said with a smile, still holding Killian's hand. "I'm just happy to be here with all of you..."

"It's almost midnight!" Someone shouted in the crowd, and we all turned to look at the clock in order not to miss the big moment.

Still smiling, I squeezed Killian's fingers and got a bit closer to him. I looked at all my friends counting the second before leaning to speak to his ear.

"In case you didn't know, it's a tradition to kiss the one you love at midnight."

"I didn't know that, but I was planning to do so anyway, so we have an excuse." He said, and I laughed quietly.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR" Everyone suddenly yelled around us.

I wrapped my arms around Killian's neck, putting myself on my tiptoe, and pressed my lips against his. We stayed a long time like that, and even when we parted, I kept my forehead against his.

"I love you." I whispered, my eyes still closed, running my fingers through his hair.

"You know what, darling? I love you too." He answered, and he moved to kiss me softly once again.

I placed my head on his shoulder and looked around me. Everyone seemed really happy in the room. I saw my parents and Robin and Regina kissing and hugging each other, and I looked away quite quickly to give them some privacy. I pulled away to see a little bit better, and noticed that Belle was sitting alone in a booth, her hands wrapped around a mug. She was looking quite down, and I frowned, wondering what was happening and why she wasn't celebrating the new year with everyone else. But then I understood : seeing all this couples being happy was probably hard for her as she had been betrayed by Gold once more, and seeing her expression, it was still horribly painful for her. It was normal, after all. I had felt the exact same thing when Neal had left me in jail years prior, and I knew how she was feeling. It was awful, and I suddenly felt the urge to cheer her up a little bit. I would have given anything to have someone else that my prison officer when I was in jail, and I wanted to offer her the help I hadn't gotten at the time.

"I'm coming back right away." I whispered to Killian, and he looked at Belle before nodding with a small smile, understanding what I wanted to do.

I walked toward the booth where the young woman was sitting, and sat down to face her. I started talking, and she startled a little bit, as if she hadn't heard me coming. I smiled at her and put my elbows on the table :

"Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine" She said with a fake smile, and I could tell she was obviously lying.

"That wasn't a real question." I replied, and that made her smile, for real this time. "I can tell things are not great for you."

She shrugged but didn't say anything. She didn't seem eager to tell me about her feelings, but I felt the need to start talking again :

"I know how it feels"

"You know?" She repeated in a skeptic way, and I didn't understand her expression right away. "Emma, it's really sweet of you to come here and try to cheer me up. But, you know, you can't really understand how I feel right now. I mean, you're pregnant, you have a man who loves you and he hasn't betrayed you for the hundredth time. "

"I was talking about my past." I said without feeling upset by her words. "Neal left me in jail, pregnant, while I was still a kid. It didn't feel very good."

She suddenly seemed horrified by her own words, and she violently bit her lower lip as if she wanted to take back what she had said. She looked at me through her eyelashes, trying to see if I was mad, but I smiled at her to comfort her, and she finally spoke again :

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

"That's okay." I smiled. "Don't blame yourself. But Belle, I'm not gonna lie to you : the pain doesn't go away. You don't wake up one morning as if nothing has happened. You just learn to live with it, and sometimes, it can make you stronger. And if you're lucky, you meet someone who doesn't make you suffer."

I turned my head to look at Killian with a little smile. He was enthusiastically talking with Henry, and met my gaze for a second, smiling back at me. I turned away to look at Belle again, and resumed :

"Sometimes, you have to respect yourself enough to let go of the people who prevent you from being happy, even if you love them very much."

"That's really deep." She joked with a smile, but I could see that my words had made their way to her heart.

"I know." I replied playfully. "The pregnancy has this effect on me."

"Thanks, Emma." She said with a smile. "That means a lot."

"No problem. Come on, don't stay here all by yourself. It's a party! You deserve to celebrate the new year with us."

And without waiting for her to answer, I got up and took her hand, dragging her behind me.

* * *

"I'm exhausted." I sighted, trying to hold back a yawn.

I was sitting down on the bed I was sharing with Killian and removed my second earring, putting the jewelery on the table beside the bed. Killian smiled at me and took off his shirt before saying.

"You know, that was really sweet of you to go talk to Belle."

"That wasn't sweet." I laughed, leaning against the headboard and sitting cross-legged. "That was normal."

"Are you kidding me? That was really great. You actually managed to cheer her up a bit, she was smiling for the rest of the party."

"She's my friend. She would have done the same for me." I shrugged. "I just want her to be happy."

He shook his head and sat down on the bed to face me. He smiled and gently took my hand before talking again.

"You don't even realize how wonderful you are, do you? God, I love how you're always there for the people you love."

"Stop it." I said with a chuckle, feeling myself blushing a little. "Everyone would have done the same thing."

"Okay, you want me to tell you what else I like about you? I wanna show you how amazing you are." he said, coming a bit closer to me and gently rubbing my hand with his thumb.

"I think you've drunk a bit too much." I scoffed to hide how moved I was.

"I like your teasing." He said with a laugh, not looking upset at all. "I like your face, your hair, your beautiful eyes. I like the fact that you're bearing our child, because let's be honest, with us as parents, it's gonna be bloody good looking."

I burst out laughing, and he seemed pretty proud of himself. I looked at him with a little smirk, saying :

"Go on, I'm starting to like this game."

"I like how you defend yourself when someone is bothering you, and your gentleness when it comes to the people you love. I like your strength and your sensitivity. I like your courage, your doubts and your fears."

I didn't answer anything, too moved to be able to speak. I tried to hide the tears that had appeared in my eyes, but he didn't seem to mind and he resumed with a gentle smile.

"I love all of you, Emma Swan, because you're the most bloody wonderful woman I've ever had the chance to meet."

I tried to say something back, but the lump in my throat was too thick. His words were so powerful that I felt like I could start crying anytime. He always knew what to do to move me. He was so good with words. What he had said to me, nobody else had ever talked to me like that before. Nobody had ever accepted me like he did, with my flaws and my contradictions. Every time I was looking into his eyes, I was seeing nothing but love, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed. I loved him so much. Beyond words, beyond my fear of commitment, even beyond death.

He guessed I didn't know what to say, and I didn't need to, because he knew how I felt about him. He was the one who was good with words, after all. He smiled, and gently approached his face to press a kiss on my lips. The kiss started to become more and more passionate, and, pretty soon, we both found ourselves laying on the bed in our underwear, resuming what we had started in the hall of the diner.

* * *

I only put my panties and a t-shirt to spend the night. Killian immediately wrapped his arms around me when I lied down next to him. I buried my face into his neck, smiling, while he kissed me several time on my collar bones. It felt so good to be next to him. I was feeling loved, and safe, feelings I had sought during my all life and I had finally found in his arms.

"I love you." I whispered without being sure he had heard me.

He pulled me a little bit closer to his chest

For the first time in weeks, I slept well that night.

* * *

 **See you monday!**


	12. Chapter 12

**thanks to oncer4life11 and Emilee Amethyst for the reviews!**

* * *

"This is the most bloody difficult thing I've ever try to build in my entire life. And I'm two hundred." Killian mumbled, looking absolutely appalled and staring at the wooden stick he was holding in his hand.

"I can't believe it." My mom added, biting the inside of her cheek. "We had to do the same thing for Neal. I can't see why we seem unable to do it again."

She looked down at the plan laying on the floor for the hundredth time, which was supposed to show them how to build the crib we had bought for the baby the day prior. She looked focused as if she was going to find the solution to all of her problems, and I sighted slightly, seeing how lost they all looked.

Killian and my parents were sitting on the floor of the living room and were trying to assemble the crib for more than an hour. They didn't seem to know what they were doing, and I had tried to join them, but they had categorically refused my help. I was therefore sitting on the sofa, my legs underneath me, and I was trying to stay awake.

I was feeling really bad since the morning. I had awakened with a horrible headache, and I had felt nauseous all day. The truth was I was exhausted. I hadn't had a restful night since the New Year's Eve, and two weeks had passed since then. I had felt my health getting worse and worse, and I had tried to keep the situation secret in order not to worry my family, but I had had to talk to Killian today. I was feeling so weak that my legs were starting to shake every time I was trying to get up, and I hadn't been able to eat all day because I was feeling like throwing up. I had barely been capable to go down the stairs. I hadn't described my state that way to Killian, of course. He would have wanted me to go and see Whale, and my condition was probably going to get better with time. But deep down, I knew it wasn't like that, and it wasn't reasonable to keep that for me.

I sighted once again and closed my eyes, gently rubbing my stomach. I didn't know why I was feeling so sick. Everything had gone fine when I was pregnant with Henry, and the conditions were so much better now. I was however trying to stay positive : my pregnancy was slowly coming to an end. I was seven months pregnant, and the baby was going to be there pretty soon. I had to hold on, I was going to, but I was really hoping it was going to get better. I was not sure how I could stay like this for eight more weeks.

I took off the sweater I was wearing over a t-shirt for the umpteenth time. I was suffering from hot flushes and I was cold then hot in a matter of minutes. My throat was so dry it was hurting me. I decided to use the bit of strength I still had to get up and get something to drink. I didn't want to ask my family for their help. I was very sick, but my pride was stronger, and I didn't want to bother them. I couldn't pass out because of the few meters I had to walk to go into the kitchen. Well, I was hoping so anyway.

I headed for the kitchen with somewhat shaking steps. I walked past my family, but got stopped by Killian, who grabbed my arms. I looked down to him, wondering what he wanted to tell me, and he stared at me with a worried frown. Even if I hadn't told me the entire thing, I could tell he had guessed I was feeling really bad.

"Where are you going?" He asked, gently stroking my hand.

"In the kitchen, I'd like to drink something." I answered in a slurred voice.

"I can go for you, darling. You have to rest, maybe it's not good for you to make efforts right now..."

I offered him a little smile to comfort him a bit. He was already so worried, he would have been completely panicked if I had told him how I was really feeling. I sighted, feeling already a bit dizzy. But I wanted to do it myself. I wanted to prove to myself I wasn't as sick as I was feeling. I didn't want to be unwell, I just wanted to live my life normally. I was so tired of all these heath problems.

"You're so pale." He added, looking at me carefully.

"I'm okay." I affirmed in a low voice. "I can still walk a few feet."

I gently freed myself from his embrace and walked away the quicker as possible to prevent him from trying to hold me back. When I was sure my family couldn't see me anymore, I leaned against the kitchen's counter for a few seconds to try and regain some strength. I just wanted a glass of water, it couldn't be that hard. I finally sighted and shook my head, thinking that if I pretended that everything was all right, it would fall in place. I went to get a glass in the cupboard and trying to ignore my weakness I walked back toward my family as if everything was fine.

But half-way to the living room, black spots started to invade my vision. I was forced to stop to blink several times and try not to lose my balance. My legs were getting weaker and weaker and I was feeling like the glass was really heavy in my hand. Blinded, I dabbled around me to try and find a fulcrum, but I didn't touch anything. My head felt heavy and was hurting really bad, but I didn't even have the strength to put my hand on my forehead. My brain was idling, I couldn't think anymore. Unable to call for help because my body seemed like paralyzed, I dropped the glass and it exploded on the ground in a huge clash that unpleasantly rang in my head. Everything was blurry, but I saw my parents and Killian turning to see where the noise was coming from. They stared at me, and I tried to tell them what was going on, but couldn't make a sound.

"Emma, are you okay?"

As I had expected, everything went black, and my legs eventually failed to support my weight. I couldn't even try to slow down my fall, and I painfully hit the ground.

"Emma!" A familiar voice yelled, but it sounded distorted.

Then I lost consciousness.

* * *

I was awakened by the feeling of something cold being applied on my forehead, and startled a little bit. I could remember everything, and my back was killing me – the fall had had to be pretty violent. I was laying on my back on the couch, my legs lifted up by several pillows. I could feel a hand holding mine. I finally opened my eyes, a bit confused, and the person who was holding my hand immediately squeezed it :

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Killian's familiar voice rang next to my head.

It sounded so broken I felt my heart skip a beat. I pressed his finger between mine and tried to turn my head to see him and smiled at him. I was still feeling pretty down, but I would have given anything to reassure him. But I was stopped by my mom's voice, above me, who held my head to prevent me from moving :

"Shh, honey, stay still."

I decided to listen to her and didn't try to move again. She repositioned the wet cloth on my forehead and gently pressed her hand against my cheek.

"I think you're fever is gone, it's a good sign."

I wasn't really understanding what was happening. Sure, I could recall me collapsing, but I didn't know how long I had stayed unconscious, and I was surprised to learn I had run a fever. I looked up to meet my mom's eyes. She was looking like she had cried, and seemed deeply worried, but she gently smiled at me to comfort me. I tried to grin back, and asked in a husky voice.

"Can I move, now?"

She nodded, and I immediately turned my head to look at Killian, who was kneeling on the floor next to me. He was looking so worried I felt a little pinch in my chest, and I smiled at him to show him I was okay. I could guess he was feeling guilty, but he didn't have to : it was my fault, I wanted to play strong but I was sick and I should have stayed still. He had nothing to do with that. I opened my mouth to tell him my thoughts, but he preempted me.

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." I said with a little smile, even if I was still feeling really weird, but I didn't want to worry him more that he already was.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, darling." He said in a shaking voice.

"Sorry?" I repeated, confused. "For what?"

"I should have brought you the drink. I shouldn't have let you go by yourself. It's all m fault..."

"Stop it!" I cried out, shaking my head. "It's my fault. I was sick, and I wanted to play hero. I'm just too stubborn. Don't blame yourself, understand?"

He nodded. His words had pained me. I didn't want him to feel bad about what had happened : I was the one who had insisted to go by myself, it was all my fault. He seemed to understand my point, and offered me a sad smiled, pressing a kiss on my hand. I could see he had been really scared, and I was feeling so guilty, because I should have known I was too sick to move.

"Very well, Emma." A voice started, and I startled because I didn't know who was talking to me.

It was a man speaking, but it wasn't Killian or my father. I turned my head once again to see that Whale was there, next to my dad, and I frowned. He was looking very concerned, and I felt scared that the situation was worse than I thought.

"How long did I stay unconscious?" I asked in a scared voice, putting my free hand on my belly to know if the baby was okay.

It kicked, and I sighted in relief. Once again, I was the one who was in danger. The baby was fine, and even if I was feeling a little concerned about myself, the baby's health was the most important for me.

"For about half an hour." My dad said in a serious way. "We called Whale directly, but you were still unconscious. We almost called an ambulance but you finally woke up."

I sighted once again. I was happy to have awakened when I was still in our house. I didn't want to go to the hospital, not again. I was just feeling tired of all of these problems. Nothing seemed to work out these past few weeks, and I didn't know how much longer I could take it.

"I suppose this is not the first time you're feeling that sick?" Whale added with a disapproving look. "Since when do you have these kind of symptoms?"

"I don't… I don't know exactly." I stuttered, still a bit confused. "I'd say it started after the car crash, but it got worse the last two weeks..."

"What?!" Killian cut me off, looking absolutely horrified. "Are you kidding me? But… why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to worry you." I confessed, biting my lower lip to prevent myself from crying because of his reaction.

"Well, good job, Swan." He said a bit coldly, but I knew he was as mad at me for not telling him as himself because he hadn't noticed how bad I was. "You're laying there now. Maybe it wouldn't have been like that if you had told me right away."

"I'm so sorry." I said, looking straight into his eyes and feeling deeply guilty because I knew he was right, I should have told him everything. "Killian, I didn't want to upset you. I don't know what's gotten into me. I..."

My voice broke from the pain, and he lost his look to shake his head because of my reaction. He leaned forward to press a kiss on my forehead and whispered :

"It's okay, baby. I'm sorry I got mad. I'm just really worried, that's all. I should have seen that something was wrong too. I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault." I assured him. "I thought it was normal to feel that way because of the pregnancy." I added, squeezing Killian's hand a little bit more to quietly show him how sorry I was.

"Were you feeling that way when you were expecting Henry?" My mom asked gently.

"I don't really remember..." I admitted. "It was so long ago. But I don't think so..."

"Well, that's not normal." Whale said with a little wince, kneeling down next to Killian to examine me once more and make sure the baby and I were all right. "Look, Emma. "He resumed after a few more minutes. "The baby is okay, and everything seems fine. I won't take you to the hospital, I know you don't want to. But, and I know you're not going to like it, you have to take some precautions for the baby's well-being, and your own. You have to stop making physical efforts for the rest of the pregnancy..."

"But I don't make any physical efforts!" I protested in a high-pitched voice.

"It's not what I mean, Emma. The thing is you have to stay off your feet as much as you can to avoid any possibility of complications. We don't want the baby to be born to soon, it's really important."

I briefly closed my eyes to avoid crying and hide how distraught I was feeling. I hated this, even if I knew I had to do what the doctor was saying. But it meant I had to stop going to the station and stay at home. It meant I couldn't really do anything anymore. It wasn't like me. I needed to move to feel good, I didn't know how I would be able to stay in bed for the next eight weeks. I opened my eyes and looked at Killian. He seemed to understand what I was thinking, and gently rubbed my palm with his finger to comfort me. I had to do it, it was for the baby's sake and I wanted it to be fine more than anything in the world. I felt the baby give a kick as if it was trying to show me it was the best thing to do, and I finally talked again

"Fine, I'll do it."

"The situation is really serious, Emma" Whale added as if he wanted to make sure I wasn't lying to him. "I'm not asking you to stop living. You can still move, but I need you to rest and try not to make any effort when you don't have to."

"I know, I get it!" I said, a bit annoyed by his lack of trust. "I want the baby to be in good health. Can I try to sit down, now?"

He nodded, and with Killian and my mom's help, I leaned against the sofa. I sighted a bit, my hand still on my stomach. My mom squatted in front of me and gave me a chocolate bar with a little smile, as if I was a litle girl she was trying to comfort.

"Eat. It will make you feel better."

I wasn't feeling as nauseous as before, and I took the sweet form her hand with a little smile. She gently run her hand through my hair and got up while Killian stayed on the floor facing me.

"You have to be careful and stop skipping meal as well." The doctor added. "Seriously, Emma. It's important."

"I know." I said a bit coldly because I was tired of seeing him treating me like a child. Even if I had made a mistake, I was a big girl and I could take care of myself. "But I was feeling nauseous. I couldn't have kept anything if I had tried."

He nodded and seemed to understand I was getting it and he would only make me mad if he continued. My mom smiled to break the tension and offered him to escort him to the front door. He accepted, and Killian and I were left alone in the living room.

I looked down and tried to hide how desperate I was feeling because of the news. I had a lump in my throat and swallowed it back to avoid crying. I couldn't believe I had to depend from other. I had taken care of myself for most of my life, I hadn't needed the help from anyone to survive. And now I had to count on people to do almost everything. I knew it was for the baby and I already loved it so much I would have done anything for the little one to be healthy, but I was feeling so bad about my new situation. I had told everyone I was pregnant and not sick since the beginning of the pregnancy, and now I had to stay in bed for almost two months. I was the Savior, for God's sake! People usually needed me, not the opposite way!

"Are you all right?" Killian asked, driving me away from my thoughts and moving the pillows to place them behind my back. "Are you feeling better?"

I didn't answer anything and stared at the chocolate bar in my hand. I had only taken a few bites from it, but my thoughts had made me nauseous again, and I wasn't hungry at all. I moved to drop the sweet on the coffee table to eat it later, but Killian looked at me in a disapproving way :

"No, Swan! You have to eat, you understand? I won't let you skip meal anymore, it's for the baby, okay? We need the little one to be healthy, love. You scared me to death, you know? You could have been injured, or the baby could have been hurt. Are your back okay? I can try to ease the pain if you want to..."

I still didn't say anything. Hundreds of conflicting feelings were crashing in my brain. I didn't know what to do to feel better. I didn't know anything anymore, it was too much to take. That's why I couldn't resist much longer, and I started sobbing violently.

 _Fucking hormones_

I pressed one of my hand against my mouth to try and stop crying, but it didn't help me. I looked up to see that Killian was staring at me in the most confused way. He didn't know what was going on, but he seemed really hurt by my tears. He put a hand on my knee and asked gently :

"What's wrong, love? Are you in pain?"

I shook my head, unable to answer or to stop crying. Understanding that I couldn't tell him what was going on right now, he sat down on the couch next to me and took me in his arms. I buried my face in the crook of his neck while his hand was moving up and down my spine to comfort me. He kissed me several times on the cheek and on the top of my head, and I finally managed to calm down. When he was sure that I was able to talk again, he pulled away a little bit, but kept his arms wrapped around my waist. He looked straight into my eyes, looking upset by how sad I was, and asked gently :

"Why are you crying, sweetheart?"

"It's just, it's… It's too much!" I stuttered, still crying. "I don't want to be a burden for all of you. I just want to live my life normally..."

"Oh, Swan." He said, wiping off the tears from my face with his fingers. "You're not a burden for us, I can assure you. I would do anything for you, you know that. And it's only for a couple of months..."

"I know, but I hate to have to be dependent from others. You're already way too worried for me. I've always managed by myself..."

"We're worried because we love you." He stated gently. "I promise you it will pass quickly. It's only for a few weeks. We'll do anything to distract you, I promise, I just don't want you to be sad. You'll be okay. We just want you and the baby to be in good health."

He illustrated his words by putting his hand on my stomach, and the baby kicked, making him smile. He moved after a few seconds and cupped my face to look at me with pure love in his eyes. I wasn't crying anymore. Feeling him near me was making me feel so much better.

"It's gonna be okay, now. I promise you. Are you feeling a bit better?"

I nodded and he pressed a quick kiss on my lips to comfort me, making me smile a little bit. He was so adorable with me. I loved him so much.

"I'm sorry." I finally said in a muffled voice. "I don't know why I broke down like that, I know it's for the baby and it's not that bad..."

"Don't apologize, darling. God, I love you more than anything Emma. I just want you and the baby to be okay. Never hide anything like that from me again, okay?"

I smiled shyly and he took me into his arms once again. I put my head on his shoulder as he was running his hand through my hair. I was feeling so safe against him.

"Promise?" He resumed gently.

"Promise." I whispered. "thanks for understanding..."

"Always, love. I'm all yours."

I stayed snuggled into his arms for a very long time. I wasn't feeling sad anymore. Everything seemed a lot easier when I was close to him. It would be okay at the end, I knew it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to Lilybean2004, Ktdede, oncer4life11, Emilee Amethyst and Guest for their reviews!**

* * *

I knocked at my parent's front door and started moving from a foot to another, too impatient for my mom to come and open the door for me. I couldn't stay put since the morning and having to stay in bed because of my health was a real ordeal. Fortunately, I could still get out of the house if I was careful not to make too many efforts, and driving here with the yellow bug didn't take a lot of energy.

I anxiously started playing with my fingers until they hurt. I had woken up with a huge lump in my throat and my stomach was hurting because of the stress. I was feeling so much better since my collapse two weeks earlier, but this morning had been a real nightmare. And the only one I could talk to about my fears was my mom. She was the only one who could understand me. And I really needed to talk to someone, because I was feeling like I could implode from the anxiety and it was driving me crazy.

I finally saw the door handle move, and my mom appeared with a big smile on her face. She immediately took me into her arms to gently embrace me. Since Whale had told me to stay off my feet, she was very careful with me, always making sure that I was feeling fine and that I had eaten enough. I wasn't even trying to protest. It was actually making me feel very good, because I was feeling like a little girl again, except this time I had a mom and it was simply amazing.

"Emma! How are you? Come on in, honey."

I forced myself to smile in order not to worry her too much, and thanked her for her hospitality. I walked a few feet into the apartment I had shared with my parents for a while. I stopped in the middle of the living room, a bit embarrassed, not knowing how to start the conversation.

"Dad isn't here, right?" I asked while looking around me.

"No, he isn't, as you've asked on the phone this morning. He went to the park with Neal."

I nodded and nervously played with Hook's ring. I was happy that my father was absent : I didn't want him to know why I had come here. Nobody needed to be aware of my fears aside from my mom. She was the only one able to help and I was too embarrassed to talk to anyone else about my feelings.

"Sit down, baby, you need to rest. Do you want something to eat?"

I obeyed, took off my coat, placed it on the couch behind me, and shrugged. I knew all too well that my mom was going to insist about me eating something anyway. As expected, she didn't mind because a few minutes later, she put a plate containing a few biscuits on the coffee table, and she gave me a cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked, sitting down next to me on the sofa. "You sounded worried on the phone, and you're looking a bit upset."

I drank a bit of the hot cocoa to try and find some courage. I had come here to talk, after all, but I didn't know how to start and I was feeling very nervous. The concoction burnt my throat, and I winced. I was feeling so anxious my leg started to bounce up and down without me noticing anything.

"I'm scared to be a bad mom." I finally said really quickly as if the words were burning my lips.

"What?" My mom asked, staring at me with a frown.

I couldn't tell if she was just surprised or if she hadn't understood what I had said because I had talked too quickly. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second to focus. It couldn't be that hard. I knew she wouldn't judge me anyway. She was my mom. She would understand.

"I'm scared to be a bad mom." I repeated, forcing myself to speak slowly.

My mom seemed completely lost and didn't answer right away as if she was processing the information. I leaned forward to put my mug on the coffee table, and resumed playing with my fingers. I looked down and stared at the couch, nervously waiting for her reaction.

"But Emma!" She finally said, looking utterly confused by my words. "What kind of thought is this? What happened for you to think that way?"

"Nothing particular." I said in a low voice, still avoiding her gaze. "I'm thinking about that since I've learned I'm pregnant. But this morning… I don't know it just became stronger, and I feel like I'm getting crazy. I'm going to give birth soon, mom. I don't know how I'm gonna raise this child. I'm not ready. It's safe now that it's still inside of me – and yet I've managed to put it in danger when I panicked because of my powers, when I had my car crash or when I didn't tell anyone about how bad I was feeling. So how am I gonna do when it will be there?"

"Emma, everything will be okay..."

"No, it won't!" I cut her off, feeling the panic rushing over me. "I can't even stay out of danger, so how am I going to protect a little baby from the world? It will need me, and I'm not sure I can do it. What if I make mistakes? What if I hurt it without realizing it?

My voice broke on the last sentence, and I violently bit my lower lip to avoid crying. My mom put on of her hand on my knee to comfort me, and said in a gentle voice :

"But honey, it's not like you're a first-time mother. You have Henry..."

"This is different!" I shouted. "I met Henry when he was ten. He could already take care of himself. But I've never raised a baby before, and I don't trust myself..."

"Listen, baby, we all make mistakes. I know you're scared, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. You're gonna do great, I'm sure of it. Have you talked about your fears with Hook?"

I slowly shook my head. I had thought only my mom could understand me. Killian was always there for me, but he seemed so confident about the baby. He was trusting me beyond words, but I knew he was wrong. I was incapable of being a good mother, it was too much for me. And I already loved this kid so much, I couldn't have stood the idea of hurting it. My mom sighted and I shyly looked up to meet her stare :

"For god's sake, Emma, why haven't you? He's the father, and he's always there for you, he would do anything to make you happy, you know that…"

"But he can't understand!" I cried out. "You're the only one who can!"

She stared at me as if I had gone crazy. I blinked several times and, understanding that she wasn't getting anything I was telling her, I added :

"You've been in this situation before. You've had a child, but you've had to give it up and you've raised another one afterward. You must have felt the same thing when you were pregnant with Neal, am I wrong?"

She still didn't say anything and seemed completely speechless. I kept on talking, waiting for a reaction to know if my assumptions were correct :

"It was even worse for you! I was twenty-eight when I found you, I was a big girl and I could take care of myself. Henry was only ten, he was still a kid. You're the only on who can understand how I feel, because you've lived the exact same thing."

My words didn't seem to ease her. She was frowning, and seemed worried and saddened at the same time. I didn't know why she was looking so distraught, and I felt totally clueless for a few seconds.

"Mom?" I asked to make her say something, because her silence was too much to take for my already overstressed brain. "Is everything okay?"

"Emma!" She finally shouted, and she grabbed both my hands to squeeze them between hers. "You're gonna be a wonderful mom, I'm sure of it. Look how you always manage to make the kids smile. They love you. And you're right, I felt the same way at the time. But the fact that you gave up Henry for adoption doesn't change the bound you both share. You're his mother, as you're our daughter even if we didn't raise you..."

I suddenly realized that I could have hurt her with my words. I had just said what I had in mind, and I hadn't thought about how she could take it. She was probably thinking that I was still mad at her for leaving me when I was a baby. But it wasn't the case. I was understanding they hadn't had a choice now, and I really didn't want to upset my mom. I was definitely doing everything wrong lately…

"I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean it like that." I said in a muffled voice, feeling deeply guilty. "I don't blame you. You did what was right for your kingdom, you and dad are heroes. And now we're together, so everything is fine..."

"Okay, Emma, I think it's time for us to talk a little bit." she said in a serious way, and I felt the worry growing in my chest. "Look, Henry came to talk to me the other day."

"What did he want to tell you?" I asked, a bit confused.

"He wanted to talk with me about what you have told him a while ago. That you felt upset when I said that I wanted a second child." She added, seeing that I was still not understanding what she was talking about.

I sighted loudly and let go of her hand to rub my face. I would never have thought that my son was going to tell my parents about our conversation. I had talked to him to comfort him, and I was now paying the consequences of my words. It was only making things more complicated that they already were, and I wondered why the hell my son had talked to my mom about that. I had told him that I was okay now, he had no reason to go talk to his grandparents, and I didn't know how to get away from this situation.

"I'm going to have a little conversation with him later." I mumbled, a bit annoyed at him. "He really didn't have to tell you that."

"Don't be mad at him, baby." She tempered with a little smile. "He did it because he's worried about you. He just wants you to be happy. And I know he was feeling a bit weird after what you've said that day, so he wanted to ask me what were my thoughts about it. He did nothing bad, really"

"You're right." I sighted once again, wondering how I was going to explain myself. "But I felt that way only for a few minutes, you know. It was just weird for me when you said that in the echo cave in Neverland. But when I learned that you were pregnant, I was happy..."

"I understand, Emma." She said with a little smile. "You would have wanted me to talk to you about that before saying it aloud in the cave."

"You didn't really have a choice, you had to tell your deepest secret after all." I stated, before adding, a bit embarrassed. "I Just… I felt like I wasn't good enough for you."

"Emma..." she started, looking horrified.

"It was just for a little while!" I cut her off to try and defend myself. "I know I was wrong. And I love Neal, I love being a big sister..."

"Listen to me very carefully." She said with tears in her eyes. "I forbid you to think like that ever again, you understand? I haven't raised you, and believe me when I say I regret that everyday. I would have wanted to give you the childhood you deserved, I would have wanted to see your first steps, your first words, I would have wanted to give you everything, Emma, but it's too late for that. You're a grown-up, and as you said, you can take care of yourself. But I'll always be there for you, and your dad and I love you so much. When I see the beautiful, loving, perfect woman you've become, I couldn't be prouder of you."

I nodded slowly. I felt tears forming in my eyes because of her words. I knew my parents loved me, of course, but hearing her say it aloud was really moving me. She smiled and cupped my face to look at me with pure love in her eyes, before wrapping her arms around me to pull me into a tight embrace. I buried my face in her shoulder, enjoying how safe I was feeling in that position.

"I love you so much, honey..."

"I love you too, mom." I answered in a muffled voice, still trying to hold back my tears.

I stayed cuddled into her arms for a little while before she gently pulled away from me. She smiled and kissed my forehead, and I grinned back. Sure, my relationship with my parents hadn't always been easy. Being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming was something pretty hard to accept. But we loved each other, and I couldn't have been happier to finally have a family.

"And about your fears, of course I understand them. I felt the exact same way. But you really don't have to be scared. You're gonna be a wonderful mom, and your baby will have everything to be happy. But if I can give you an advice, it's that you should talk about it with Killian. He won't judge you, and he can help you. I'm sure he's feeling exactly like you are. You can overcome this together. You're a team."

"Thanks, mom." I said with a little smile.

She was right, I should have told Killian way sooner. He could help me. He always knew how to comfort me. My mom nodded, guessing that I had finally taken the good decision, and she grabbed the plate containing the biscuits to offer me one of the sweets.

"Come on, eat something. You're not skipping meal anymore, are you? You're getting enough rest, you're listening to what Whale has said to you?"

"Yeah, I am, I'm doing everything I can for the baby to be all right." I said with a thankful smile as I took a biscuit in my hand. "And I'm feeling much better now that I've stopped running around the town. It's hard to stay still sometimes, but it's for the little one, so it's worth it."

"Good. You know what, Emma? I'm sure you're gonna be very happy. You deserve it."

I smiled at her, touched and comforted by her words. Now that she had talked about me speaking with Killian, I couldn't wait to go home and tell him everything. He would understand, he was always so supportive. We could comfort each other. He always knew how to make me feel better, and I was sure that we could do it, now. Sure, we would probably make mistakes, as every parents in the world. Nobody was perfect. But this kid was going to be loved and that was the most important thing, I knew it now.

* * *

I closed the front door behind me and removed the snowflakes from my coat before quickly taking it off. It was nicely warm inside the house, and I walked toward the living room with a little smile. I was feeling so much better now. Killian was sitting on the couch, his feet on the coffee table, and was reading a book. He was looking so peaceful, and didn't seem to have heard me coming back from my mom's. I approached him and said gently in order not to startle him :

"I'm home."

"Is everything all right?" He asked as I was sitting down next to him on the sofa, putting his book on the coffee table. "I didn't want to say anything earlier, but you seemed vexed. Is this why you went to see your mother?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

I put one of my leg underneath me to turn and face him. I was really eager to tell him everything now. He would comfort me, and I was curious to know if he was feeling the same way. He hadn't raised a child before either, after all.

"I need to talk to you, Killian..." I said and I saw his expression change as he started to look really worried.

"Wow, that's not a good sign, is it? Did I do something wrong? If so, I'm really sorry..."

"No, babe." I laughed, putting a hand on his knee to ease him. "You didn't do anything wrong, I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to tell you the reason why I went to see my mom. I wanted to talk with her because…"

I stopped, not knowing how to tell him everything. It was a pretty difficult conversation, and I didn't know where to start. But he looked at me with half a smile, and it reassured me. I took a deep breath before resuming :

"Because I'm scared to be a bad mom."

He didn't answer right away. He was looking a bit surprised by my revelation, and he seemed to be searching for the right words to tell me his thoughts. I waited patiently, my hand still on his knee, and he finally said after a few more seconds :

"Well, first of all, you're gonna be a great mother, I can tell. But why didn't you say anything before now?"

He didn't seem mad at all, just a little surprised. I had been a bit scared to talk to him because I didn't want to upset him. I had gone to see my mother instead of him, after all. But he just seemed eager to understand, and I admitted with a shy smile :

"Because I was scared you would think I'm crazy. I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. I just went to my mom because she once was in the same situation I am today : she had a child, but she didn't raised it. I thought she was the only one who could understand..."

"Believe me, I get it too." He stated with a slight sight.

"Are you scared too?" I suddenly asked without notice, because I really wanted to know.

"Of course I'm afraid, Swan." He said as if it was obvious. "I've never really taken care of a baby before now. But you know what makes me feel better when I start to feel anxious? Well, it's you, love." He said when I had shaken my head, and I raised my eyebrows, surprised. "Because when I see you with Neal and the other kids, I can see how good you are with them. You're gonna be the greatest mother ever. Do you remember when you saw me looking at you during the Christmas party, when you were playing with the children? Well it was because I was thinking of how adorable you were with them. They absolutely love you"

"That's what my mom told me too." I admitted with a smile. "And I feel the same way about you. When I have doubts, I think about how wonderful you're gonna be with our baby, and it makes me feel a lot better."

He smiled at me and took my hand. I looked at our fingers naturally intertwining with each other, as if they had been made to be that way.

"We're a team." He said in a low voice. "We're gonna be good parents. We're gonna raise this kid, and it's gonna be the most adorable child in the entire universe."

"With a pirate as a father, it's gonna be a bit unruly." I joked with a little laugh.

"With you as a mother, it's gonna be sassy." He replied, and I giggled. "But I know we're gonna do good."

I nodded and smiled. Between Killian and my mom's advice, I was feeling a lot better now. They were right. We would make it together. It had always worked that way, and we were starting a family together. All was good.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks to Guest , Emilee Amethyst, oncer4life11 and Lilybean2004 for the reviews!**

* * *

"Killian?"

"Mmm?" He grunted absent-mindlessly.

"Have you thought about buying appetizers?"

Killian and I were sitting on the couch next to each other, his right arm around me, my hand on his stomach and his fingers gently stroking my side. He was staring at the television screen in front of us and that could explain why he had been so inattentive about my question. It wasn't the first time he was watching a movie, and yet he still seemed to think the images could jump at his throat at any moment.

"What kind of appetizers?" He asked, turning his head to look at me.

"Well, you know, things to eat before dinner." I answered, understanding that he hadn't thought about that by seeing his questioning look

He winced and stared at me, looking deeply guilty. I felt like he was trying to make sure I wasn't angry at him, and I laughed at his sheepish expression. I lifted my chin up to press a kiss on his cheek and assure him everything was all right as he was saying :

"I'm sorry, love. You asked me to yesterday, I completely forgot..."

"It's okay, it's not a big deal." I smiled. "Forget about it."

"Perhaps we can find some snacks in the kitchen?" He offered as if he was trying to make up for his oblivion.

"you live in a fantasy world, Killian." I replied, laughing, because I knew all too well that we didn't have any snacks at home, and that was the reason why I had asked him to go get things in the grocery store the day prior.

"You want me to go now?" He asked with worry in his eyes, and I could guess he was really feeling guilty.

"Don't worry about that, babe." I answered, wrapping my arms around him to keep him close to me. "I think my parents will survive."

We were waiting for my parents to arrive and spend the evening with us. They were bringing pizzas, and we therefore had nothing to cook, so we were relaxing while waiting for them. Henry was reading in his room. It was normally the week he was spending at Regina's, but he had come for dinner so he could spend a little time with his grandparents. I had asked Killian about the appetizers because I was suddenly feeling very hungry, and I would have killed for a pack of peanuts. Killian seemed to guess I was having cravings, because he gently pulled away from me to get off the couch :

"Do you have any cravings? Whatever it is, I will go and get you what you want..."

"Don't worry!" I repeated, grabbing his arms with a laugh to prevent him from leaving because I didn't want to bother him. "I don't need anything"

"I know you, love, I know when you have cravings but you don't want to say anything because you don't want to disturb me." He said with a smirk, saying aloud what I was thinking internally.

"Well, okay then. I have the biggest craving for peanuts." I admitted with a roll of my eyes and a smile because of his teasing. "You happy now?"

"I'm going to go get you some." He decided, trying to pull away from my grip but I squeezed his arm a little harder while laughing. "The grocery store isn't far, I can walk to get there, I will be back in twenty minutes top."

"Killian, I'm used to it by now. I'm okay, it's just cravings, it will go away." I said even if I knew he wouldn't let go now. "The baby and I are fine without peanuts, I promise you."

"Come on, your parents won't be there for another forty minutes." He gently insisted, finally managing to free himself from my grip. "We will be back way before that time."

"We?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah." He shrugged before looking up and yelling. "Henry, do you wanna go to the grocery store with me?"

"Sure!" my son answered immediately. "I'm coming!"

"Why did you ask him to come with you?" I asked, shaking my head without understanding what was going on.

"Because now you can't prevent us to go, because the lad is probably ready now, and it would be a pity he put his shoes on for nothing." He explained, looking pretty proud of himself.

"Very clever, Jones." I said with a disapproving look because he wasn't listening to me even if I didn't quite manage to hide my smile.

"Don't pretend, I know you want us to go and bring you some snacks back..." He said with a laugh at my expression.

"That's sweet, Killian." I said, losing the act to talk to him seriously. "But I don't want to force you to go out just because my hormones are going crazy. My cravings won't last, I know it..."

"I know, darling, and I get it." He said, leaning forward to press a light kiss on my forehead. "But I just want to please you. You're doing the greatest thing in the world, you're bearing our child right now, and I can't even help you with that. So walking to the store to get you something to eat is the least I can do."

I smiled at him, moved by his words. He was always so sweet about all of this, especially now that Whale had told me to stay off my feet until the birth. It was like he wanted to show me how happy he was we were having a baby. I wasn't asking him to do a lot of things in order not to bother him, but he seemed to read my mind as if I was an open book, and he was always providing me with what I wanted without me having to ask for anything.

"I'm ready." Henry said, walking into the living room. "Why are we going, by the way?"

"You mom wants peanuts" Killian answered, glancing at me because he knew I was going to react.

"Are you kidding me?" I shouted, outraged. "You're the one who insisted..."

"I was joking, Swan." He laughed, soon joined by my son. "God, I love you."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms on my chest in a falsely angry way, but he could tell I was acting. He smiled and bend over to kiss me gently, and I couldn't help but smile as he was pulling away. I looked at them heading for the hallway and said :

"Be careful!"

"You know us!" Hook answered in a teasing tone.

"That's what worries me!" I replied right away.

I could hear their laughter as they were crossing the front door.

* * *

I looked down at my watch with a worried frown. It had been one hour since Killian and Henry had walked out the door, and they were still out there. Killian had told me he would be gone twenty minutes top, and I had tried to distract myself by watching the television, but it was too much. I was feeling like something was wrong. Beside, my parents were late as well, and that wasn't like them. They were always very punctual. I was trying to stay calm, telling myself that Killian was probably talking with someone at the store and he hadn't seen the time flew by and my parents might be having trouble getting Neal ready, but I was really anxious. I wasn't able to focus on the screen in front of me, and was nervously biting my thumb's nail. I was starving, but my stomach was hurting because of the fear. I just wanted my family to arrive and apologize because of the delay. I juts wanted to know that everything was okay. I was staring at the living room's clock, waiting for the door to open, or my phone to ring, or anything that would tell me that I didn't have to worry.

After a few more minutes, I finally took my cellphone that was laying on the coffee table to call Killian and ask him if everything was alright. My hand was shaking so much that I had to try a few times before managing to grab the phone. I was probably worrying for nothing, my hormones were going crazy lately and I was a little paranoid, but I just wanted to hear Killian's voice, I just wanted to hear him say that everything was all right and that he would be back in a matter of minutes. I glued the phone to my ear and bit the inside of my cheek as it was ringing. I cut myself and felt a metallic taste invading my mouth as the call was transferred to the mailbox. Something was definitely wrong. He was always picking up the phone. I started talking in a somewhat shaky voice :

"Hey babe. Look, I don't want to bother you or anything, but I'm a bit worried about the fact you're not home yet. Hurry up, because I'm starving." I added, aware of how worried I was sounding and not wanting to worry him when he would listen to the voice mail, as he was surely okay and I was just overreacting. "Seriously, can you call me back as soon as possible? I just want to make sure you're all right."

I hung up and blinked a few times to prevent the tears from streaming down my face. I had to stay calm. Maybe he had forgotten to turn his phone on, but my stomach hurt a little bit more because of the anxiety. I didn't know what to do. I would have wanted to go to the grocery store by myself, but Killian and Henry would probably be there soon, and my parents as well. Killian would get worried if he came home and I wasn't there anymore. I was probably getting worried for nothing at all, but I decided to call my dad to make sure that everything was all right.

As I was lifting up the phone to call my parents, it started ringing. I almost dropped it because of my eagerness to pick it up, thinking for a second that it was Killian who was calling me to comfort me. But it was my dad's number that was indicated on the screen, and I immediately took the call :

"Dad, I was going to call you." I stated, putting a hand on my belly and telling myself to calm down a bit. "Is everything okay? I'm getting worried, here."

"We're sorry, honey, we should have called sooner. Your mom and I were on our way, but we will probably be very late." He said in a worried voice.

"Why?" I asked, triggered by the tone of his voice.

"We got a call from the firefighter station. There is a fire, and we have to go help them. I don't know if the situation is bad yet, we're still in the truck, but I'm calling you as soon as we get there."

"Where is the fire?" I said, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.

"At the grocery store."

I felt like my breath was getting stuck in my throat and I choked for a second. It wasn't possible. They were probably already on their way home. They weren't in the fire, they just couldn't be. I couldn't believe it.

But a little voice at the back of my head started to yell that it was making sense. It was explaining everything. They delay, the fact that Killian wasn't answering his phone, the bad feeling I had since they had walked out the door. A dozen of horrible scenarios started playing in my brain. My son and my fiance laying on the floor of a burning building, hurt, or worse… I felt tears forming in my eyes. A sudden headache started pounding in my head. I didn't know what to do.

"Emma? Is everything okay?" My dad called because of my sudden silence, and that helped me to take a decision.

"Henry and Killian are in the store." I mumbled, completely panicked.

"What?!"

"I'm coming" I decided, and I hung up without waiting for an answer, jumping off the couch and running toward the door without even thinking about taking a coat with me.

* * *

I was driving way too fast. I knew it wasn't wise, I couldn't risk having another crash, but I couldn't help myself. My foot was glued to the accelerator pedal, and I was feeling like I wasn't controlling it anymore. Everything was blurry, I could barely see the road in front of me, the tears were blinding me and I was trying not to panic.

What if they were hurt? What if they were still inside the store? What if the firefighters weren't able to get them out in time? What if they didn't make it? What if…

I blinked, trying to stay focus and not get myself killed. I was probably panicking for nothing. They were home, and Killian was going to call me to ask me why I wasn't there anymore. I glanced at my cellphone, laying on the seat next to me. Nothing. He hadn't called me back, and my heart was pounding so quickly I was feeling dizzy. I miraculously managed to stop the car without having an accident, and I got out with a sob. I was a few streets away from the store, but I could see the smoke from where I was standing. I was hearing alarms, people screaming orders, and I felt the panic rushing over me when I recognized the noises coming from ambulances.

I ran toward the fire. I knew Killian would have killed me if he had known how much effort I was doing, but I needed to make sure they were all right. I couldn't lose them, I loved them so much. I walked past the trucks parked across the road, and bend over to go behind the safety zone defined by a yellow tape without paying attention to the firefighter calling me back, telling me that I wasn't allowed to go there. I knew they were right, it wasn't safe and I was pregnant. I should have been home, but I didn't care anymore. All that mattered was that Henry and Killian were okay. It couldn't be otherwise.

I startled and felt my breath fastened when I saw the huge flames that were burning the building and the pitch-black smoke that was floating toward the sky. The firefighters were watering the store with huge hoses, but it didn't seem to work that well. Everything was breaking down, and I tried to stay on my feet. I was so scared. I turned my head to look around me and find my parents. They would tell me if Henry and Killian were safe. I needed their support right now.

After a few seconds that felt like hours, I finally saw my mom, who were standing on the opposite side of the safety zone. I ran toward her and called her to attract her attention :

"Mom!" I said, stopping myself just right in front of her, panting.

"Emma!" She cried out, seeing how bad I was feeling and wrapping her am around my waist to prevent me from falling on the floor. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come, it's dangerous..."

"Please, I need to now." I begged with tears in my eyes. "Have you seen Henry and Killian? Are they all right?"

"Henry is in an ambulance." She said, pointing toward one of the vehicle. "He's getting checked up. Regina is on her way..."

"Is he okay?" I asked, trying to calm the uneven beats of my heart.

"He is, he isn't hurt..."

I didn't even let her finish her sentence and rushed toward the ambulance without paying attention to my mom telling me to calm down. I walked inside to find my son sitting on a stretcher. He seemed a bit shocked, but he was sitting and seemed all right. Thanking quietly every divinity I could think off, I walked toward him and hugged him tightly.

"Are you all right?" I asked, cupping his face to make sure he wasn't hurt. "Jesus, Henry, you've scared me to death…"

"I'm fine." He said in a muffled voice, tears in his eyes, probably because he was a bit shocked by the recent events.

"What happened?" I asked, wiping a tear of relief from my face.

"A candle fell down and set fire to the curtains protecting the back shop. Everything went really fast, and we couldn't do anything. Nobody got hurt thanks to Killian. He… he helped us to go out of there before it got to bad..."

"Where is he?" I asked, looking around and wondering why he wasn't with Henry, but feeling so proud of him because he was such a hero.

I looked back at my son. He seemed completely speechless. I didn't know what was going on, but he seemed deeply sad, and I felt a lump forming in my throat. Something wasn't right, I could feel it.

"Henry?" I insisted in a muffled voice, starting to understand what was going on.

"That's the thing, he didn't… he didn't manage to get out of there before the fire blocked the way..." He stuttered, trying to hide his sobs.

"He's still inside?!" I yelled, feeling my heart skipping a beat as my fears were getting real.

"The firefighters are trying to… Mom!" He cried out as I jumped out of the ambulance.

I didn't answer to my son. I couldn't just stay there. I had to do something, but I didn't know what. I couldn't go there and save him myself, I was going to get killed. He was still inside, because he had saved so many people, he had saved my son, and now he could die. I was standing so close to the building that I could feel the heat of the flames burning my skin. He couldn't die. He couldn't, not now, we had just found each other again. We were going to have a baby. He just couldn't go now, that wasn't fair.

I felt someone grabbing my arm and turned my face to look at my mom. I was blinded by the tears that were streaming down my face. I couldn't stand seeing him die once again. I couldn't, not like that, we had an entire life to spend together. We were engaged, we were starting a family. We were finally happy. He couldn't go like that, without a goodbye, without seeing his child.

"Emma, baby, you can't stay here, it's not safe..."

"He's still inside." I stuttered, in a state of shock.

"I know, honey, I just learned it as well." She said, tears in her eyes. "But you can't do anything..."

"Well I have to!" I hysterically yelled. "I can't leave him there, I have to try something!"

"You can't." She repeated in a muffled voice. "Let the firefighters do their job..."

"But what if they don't get to him in time? What if he is already..."

My voice broke and I couldn't finish my sentence. I couldn't think straight anymore. He huge sob shook my shoulders, and my mom pulled me closer to wrap her arms around me. I put my head on her shoulder as she was rubbing my back, trying to calm me down. I was reviving his death all over again.

"It's going to be okay, baby." She whispered in my ear. "He's going to make it, he's going to survive, he always does. Calm down..."

My legs weren't able to support my weight anymore, they were too shaky, and my mom helped me walk into an ambulance. She made me sit down inside, and knelt next to me. I was dizzy, I didn't even know where I was anymore. I was crying so hard I couldn't breathe. It was all my fault. He had come here for me. I could only blame myself.

I was choking. I was barely breathing, and my heart was beating way too fast in my chest. My mom cupped my face and forced me to look at her. She seemed absolutely distraught, because she wanted to help me, but she couldn't do anything. Killian was there, he was dying, a few feet from us, but we couldn't go and help him. It was horrifying.

"Emma, it's normal you're feeling bad, but you have to calm down. You're almost at the end of your pregnancy, the baby risks to be born too soon if you don't keep calm."

I knew she was right. I couldn't hurt the baby in addition to all of that. I sank my nails into my palms, trying to breathe and stop my panic attack.

"You're doing great, baby, breathe..."

"He can't… he can't be dead." I sobbed. "I don't know how… I won't..."

"Honey, calm down. Don't think about that. He's alive. Look at me, Emma,, he's alive!" She said, gently running her hand through my hair.

I nodded slowly. I knew she had no idea what was really happening, he could be dead, but she just wanted me to be okay. I had to stay strong, she was right. For Henry, the baby, and my parents. Killian would have wanted me to calm down. I was imagining his reassuring voice, as if he was standing just in front of me, and managed to breathe a bit better.

I suddenly heard noises coming from the outside. I freed myself from my mom to go out of the ambulance and walked toward the sound. I knew something was happening, I could feel it. People were yelling orders, they seemed focus. Maybe they were saving him right now. I had to make sure, I had to be there.

I walked the closest I could to the building, trying to see what was happening. I had stopped crying, and I realized I wasn't even breathing, as if I was waiting for the final verdict. He was okay, or he was dead. In my head, there was no between.

I saw a stretcher from the distance, and put myself on my tiptoe to see better. Someone was laying on it. I recognized Hook. And he wasn't moving a bit.

 _Please, be alive, be alive, be alive…_

I rushed toward him to finally know how he was. I just wanted to look at him, hug him, telling him that I loved him and ask him to never leave again. But one of the firefighter grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"You can't go any further, Swan, it's dangerous."

"Is he alive?" I asked, trying to hold back a sob.

"He is." He answered, and I felt like the world was regaining its color as I let out a sight of relieve. "We got there just in time. But he has breathed a lot of smoke, and he has several burns on his body. He's unconscious for now. We're driving him to the hospital…

I didn't know what to think. He was alive, but he was hurt, and it seemed quite serious. I just wanted to be near him, he needed me. But the firefighter hold me back once again as I was moving to join Killian.

"You can't go there."

"Why?" I asked, my jaw clenched.

"He needs urgent care, and you would be in the way..."

"We are engaged, and I'm pregnant with his child." I hissed. "I'm going."

I lifted up my hand to make him understand that I wouldn't hesitate to use my magic of I had too. He stared at my hand for a few seconds, and let go of my arm without even looking up to me, too afraid to face my anger. I didn't wait another minute and ran toward the ambulance to finally joined the man I loved.

"See you at the hospital!" My mom yelled.

I didn't even stop or nod to show her I had understood. Only one thing mattered now : Killian had to be all right. He had to survive. It couldn't be otherwise.

* * *

I was quietly crying inside the ambulance. I would have thought seeing him would make me feel better, but it wasn't the case. On the contrary, I was feeling so much worse seeing him like that. It was making things real. He had several burns on his arms and his neck, but it wasn't the worst. He had breathed a lot of smoke, and was still passed out. His face was covered by an oxygen mask, and I could see his chest lifting up at the pace of his breathing.

I was holding his hand, the other on my stomach. I needed to be tough for the baby. I didn't want to create complications because of my panic, I had already made way too many things I shoudn't have this evening. But I was so scared he wouldn't wake up. I didn't know how I would be able to stand seeing him die once again. I couldn't go get him in the underworld this time. If he had died, it would have been forever. I tried to tell myself that he was going to survive, and squeezed his hand in mine before wiping off the tears from my face. I would be strong, for our family. I had to.

* * *

Sitting on one of the uncomfortable chair of the waiting room between my parents, I was biting my nails so hard that they were starting to bleed. I nervously turned my head for the tenth time in two minutes to see if Whale wasn't coming to tell us what was going on. I was praying for him to come and tell us that everything was okay. It had been hours since Killian had arrived here, and nobody had given us any news. They hadn't let me go with him while they were taking care of him, and I had no idea how he was. It was driving me crazy. He needed me, and I couldn't go. I hated that.

My parents, Henry, Regina and Robin were sitting next to me. Nobody was talking. They were regularly glancing at me to make sure I was okay. They had tried to distract me, but all I could think about was Killian and how he was probably fighting for his life. My mom had tried to go and get me something to drink, but I couldn't ingest anything. My stomach was hurting so bad because of the stress. I just wanted to see Killian. I wanted him to be safe, I wanted to embrace him and tell him how much I loved him because I was feeling like I hadn't said it enough already.

"Emma." My mom started gently. "It's late. Whale said you needed to rest..."

"You're dreaming if you think I'm going home while Killian is still here." I answered coldly, too worried to realize I was being unfair to them because they were supporting me since the fire.

"It's not what I meant, baby." She said, not getting mad because of my tone. "I know you won't go home. I was just thinking maybe we could ask Whale if there is an empty room in the hospital so you can go and lay down for a bit."

"I want to be there when he's going to wake up." I explained softly, aware that she was just trying to help me. "He would have done the same thing for me. I'm not tired anyway."

I got up to start pacing around the waiting room. I was getting up then sitting down every ten minutes since I had arrived. I was just too nervous to stay still, but I was getting tired quickly and I didn't want the baby to suffer. It hadn't kicked since I had learned about what had happened. I didn't know if it was normal, it had rarely stayed so long without moving, and it was only reinforcing my anxiety. It was like everything was going wrong. I was wringing my hands, waiting for someone to come and finally tell me Killian was alive and well

"Emma." My dad started gently. "Stop walking like that, sweetheart, we told you yo stay off your feet..."

"You want me to rest now that the man I love is in a hospital room and I don't even know if he's going to survive?!" I suddenly yelled.

All the anger and the fear I was feeling had just gotten out all together in my sentence. I sighted and went to sit on my chair, my forehead in my hand. I was feeling guilty to have screamed like that, I knew my dad was right. I was just so scared, I couldn't take it anymore. It felt like I was going crazy.

"I'm sorry, dad." I said in a husky voice, trying to avoid my familiy's gaze in order not to see they worried look. "You're right, I don't know why I got mad like that..."

"It's okay, Emma." My dad said, taking my right hand in his to comfort me. "It's normal to be nervous, I don't blame you. But we just want the baby to be healthy."

I nodded slowly and he pulled me closer so I could put my head on his shoulder. No one talked for a little while. My dad was gently stroking my hair to comfort me, and I was feeling like I was going to burst out sobbing once again. I was so scared Killian wasn't going to make it that I was shaking. It was taking way too long, and it couldn't be a good sign. But he couldn't die, he just couldn't.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally saw a white blouse walking in our direction, and I jumped off my chair to rush over Whale :

"Is he okay? Can I see him?"

"He's okay." He said with a comforting smile. "We've managed to get his vital signs good again. You can go, but only you for now. I prefer not having too many people in the room for a little while."

I looked back at my family, and my mom nodded to tell me that I could go. Henry was sitting on his chair, tears in his eyes. I knew he was feeling guilty because he hadn't managed to help Hook get out of the store. I took the time to walk toward him and press a kiss on his forehead.

"It's not your fault, kid. Don't blame yourself."

He softly smiled at me as I pulled away from him, and I left my family to follow Whale into the maze of the hospital. He finally stopped in front of a door and held back a bit to show me he was letting me go alone.

I pushed the door in silence, and let it close behind my back. The room was only illuminated by a little pilot light laying on the night table. Machines were surrounding the bed and a chair was placed next to it. I approached it, trying to hold back my tears.

Killian was laying on the bed, and he was looking so vulnerable. His eyes closed, motionless, he wasn't wearing his oxygen mask anymore, which meant that he was all right. But it didn't seem that way. I quietly sat down next to him as if I was scared to bother him. I saw the burns that were covering his body, and without thinking about what I was doing, I passed my hand above him to heal them. I knew it wasn't going to help him wake up, but seeing him intact on the outside was comforting me.

When I had finished, I took his hand and gently squeezed it as if I was waiting for a reaction.

"Killian?" I asked

He didn't move.

So I waited.

* * *

It had been hours since I had walked into the room, and everything was still the same. I was feeling more and more tired. I hadn't slept or eaten for hours, I was feeling weak and I couldn't tell if it was night or day anymore. But I wasn't moving a bit. I wanted to be there when he would wake up. He had to see that I didn't abandon him. And he had to wake up. Whale had told me he was all right, so he had to make it. It was just a matter of time, now, even if I was feeling like I was slowly losing it waiting for him to regain consciousness.

"Killian?" I asked, leaning forward to talk to him, not knowing why I was doing that because he had probably no idea I was beside him. "I don't know if you can hear me , but please, hold on. I can't lose you. You promised me we'll have a future together, you can't die now. And there is the baby, I want it to have a father. We have so many beautiful things to live together, please don't leave me now."

Nothing happened. His eyes were still closed, and he was still not moving. I suddenly felt a huge wave of anger rushing over me, and I yelled, squeezing his hand :

"I didn't go to the underworld for it to end like that!"

Still nothing. The anger disappeared as fast as it had arrived, and I started crying again, placing my forehead on the sheets next to his stomach. I wasn't thinking straight. I was going crazy. If he didn't wake up now, I didn't know what I could do. It was hard to believe that a few hours before, we were watching TV and laughing together. And the he had gone outside because of me. I hadn't even said _I love you_ back to him when he had told me, and now he could die.

I suddenly heard the door opening but I didn't look up. A hand gently landed on my shoulder, and I recognized my mother's touch before she started speaking.

"Emma, are you all right?"

I finally looked up and leaned on the chair again, trying to wipe off the tears from my face.

"It was my fault if he was at the grocery store." I sobbed. "Because of my stupid cravings."

"Don't say that, baby." She countered, gently stroking my hair. "Don't blame yourself. He's going to wake up, I'm sure of it."

She stayed quiet for a few seconds before adding even more gently, as if she was scared to make me cry or awaken my anger once again.

"I know you're worried, but you have to eat something. It's been hours since your last meal."

"I'm not hungry." I answered, staring at Killian.

"I know, Emma, but it's for the little one." She insisted. "We want it to be in great shape, don't we?"

I didn't answer and put a hand on my stomach. I knew she was right, I needed to eat. The baby still didn't kick. I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"Come on, let's get something to eat..."

"There's no way I'm leaving this room." I said coldly. "If he wakes up, or if something happens, I have to be there. He would never leave me."

I didn't wait for an answer and let go of Killian's hand to get up. My limbs were feeling numb, I had stayed too long without moving. I had barely walked three steps that I started to get dizzy, and I lurched dangerously. I placed my hand on the wall to try to stay on my feet. Everything was blurry. My mom took my hand and forced me to sit back down.

"Okay, Emma, I'm going to get you something to eat, and don't you dare discuss." She said almost severely. "You're exhausted, you haven't eaten in hours, and you can't even stay on your feet anymore."

I didn't answer anything, too busy staring at Killian. I had taken his hand again, and had felt a little strain back. It was father-light, but I could swear it was real.

"Emma?" My mom insisted, puzzled by my silence.

"I think he's moved." I whispered, my eyes still on Killian.

My mom looked at him. I was watching carefully, waiting for something to happen, a move, a blink, anything, but nothing happened. My mom sighted and gently rubbed my shoulder :

"Oh, baby, you have probably imagined it, you're exhausted..."

I opened my mouth to reply that I was sure I had felt something, but I stopped when I saw his eyelids quivering.

"Killian?" I called him gently, rubbing his hand with my thumb.

A few seconds went by, and it felt like and eternity. I was scared my mom was right and I was just imagining things. But then he finally opened his eyes. I gasped, and he looked around him, as if he was trying to understand what he was doing in a hospital room. He finally looked at me, and I couldn't even say anything. I was speechless, I had waited for this moment for so long but I just didn't know what to say because it was too much.

"I think you won't have your peanuts today." He finally said in a husky voice.

"You idiot." I answered, crying and laughing at the same time and gently stroking his face.

"I'm going to go get Whale." My mom said, looking deeply relieved. "And this time Emma, there is no way you're refusing to eat again."

I nodded and she left the room, leaving us alone. Killian was looking at me with a frown. Tears where still streaming down my face and I was sobbing quietly.

"What does she mean? You haven't eaten?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, completely triggered by his words. "You're the one laying there, you know. How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"I'm okay." He answered with a smile. "I'm still feeling a bit weird, but I'm fine."

"You've scared me so much." I said, moving my hand to run it through his hair. "I'm so sorry, you know..."

"Why are you sorry for?" he asked with a confused expression.

"Because you were there because of me, and..."

"I'm the one who insisted to go there!" He cut me of, lifting his hand up to cup my face and comfort me. "You have nothing to apologize for, love."

I offered him a slight smile even if I was still crying. I was so happy he was all right. He was talking, and smiling, and I was just so relieved. I took his hand to press a kiss on it, and moved to sit next to him on the bed. He let go of my grab to put his fingers on my stomach and rub it gently.

"And you saved Henry." I said in a low voice. "I could never thank you enough for that. You're a hero, you know."

"You don't have to thank me, Swan." He assured me. "The lad is part of my family. I had to make sure he was safe."

"He's very worried." I informed him. "He really cares about you."

"I'll make sure to tell him I'm okay, then." He said with a little smile.

"God, I was so scared I had lost you, Killian." I admitted. "I was so scared to never see you again, and that our child would be left fatherless..."

"I need more than a fire to prevent me from meeting our child." He stated, rubbing my stomach. "And you, how are you feeling? Are you okay? You're really pale..."

I shrugged and didn't answer. I knew he would get worried if I told him how panicked I had been all night. He didn't need to know, he was already in a hospital bed and I didn't want to make him feel worse.

"I love you so much." I whispered with a small smile. "Never do that to me again, promise?"

"Promise." He answered gently.

Whale came to check up on him, and said that everything was more than okay given what had just happened. My mom was with him and forced me to eat a pack of M&M's while Killian was staring at me, making me understand that I had to eat the all things or he was going to get mad. We kept on talking for a little while after. My mom and Whale had gotten out of the room. He even managed to make me laugh a bit, and I finally stopped crying. I eventually noticed he was looking very tired, and leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"Sleep, babe. You need to rest." I whispered gently.

"Only if you promise me to get some sleep too."

"I promise." I said with a smile. "But I'll sleep on the couch. There's no way I'm going home without you."

"Well, in that case, lay down here with me." He offered.

"Killian." I said with a laugh. "You're hurt, you need to rest, and I'm pregnant. We will never fit in that bed."

"Come on, Swan, it's a request from the sick guy. Come here, you." He insisted after I had laughed a bit.

I sighted and obeyed, managing to fit just next to him. I placed my head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around me. I stayed silence and still until I felt his breath slowing down. The baby gave a huge kick a minute after Killian had fallen asleep, as if it had waited for its father to be all right.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to oncer4life11,  fifirosepfingston, guest and Emilee Amethyst for the review!  
**

* * *

The two weeks following the fire had been surprisingly quiet. Killian had been asked to get a lot of rest in order not to overburden his still fragile lungs, and we were both in the same situation : we had to stay off our feet. It was really funny as we were usually running around the town all day, and we were laughing a lot about the situation, saying that it was probably how we were gonna live 50 years from there. But I was actually enjoying it. We could spend a lot of time together, just laying in bed and teasing each other, or watching movies all day, wrapped in blankets. I knew having time together would be a little harder when the baby would be born, and I was happy to be able to be with him a lot before the birth.

I was 37 weeks pregnant, and the baby was going to be there really soon. I had loved being pregnant despite all the disadvantages I had to face, I had loved feeling the baby kicking and creating this amazing bound with it. I was already loving it so much. But I was also really excited about resuming my life, being able to move again and do my job. And I couldn't wait to finally meet the little one, knowing if it was a boy or a girl, learning to know it and holding it in my arms. It was crazy how much I already cared about it now that I hadn't seen it yet.

"Okay, I'm ready." Killian said, walking into the living room with a bowl containing potato chips in his hand. "You can start whenever you want."

He sat down next to me on the couch and poised the bowl on my stomach. It was a trick he was pretty happy to do every time, and I glanced at him with a falsely annoyed look as he was laughing out loud. He pouted to give me my smile back, and as he was moving to take the bowl back and put it on the coffee table, I grabbed it and dropped it next to me on the couch so he couldn't reach it.

"You placed it there, now you have to accept the consequences of your decision." I laughed, putting on of the potato chips in my mouth to playfully taunt him.

"Come on, Swan" He said, sticking out is lower lips before kissing me on the temple.

I laughed at his expression and put the bowl on the coffee table, incapable of resisting his look. His smiled reached his eyes when he grinned at me, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder to pull me close to him.

"Let me clear things up : you're so not ready for this." Henry scoffed.

He was sitting next to Killian on the sofa, and was smiling mischievously. He was normally sleeping at Regina's that night, but he hadn't wanted to miss this evening with us. He knew it was going to be epic. I had indeed decided that it was time for us to introduce Killian to his alter ego, and we had planned to finally watch Peter Pan all together for the first time.

"Come on, we're talking about something made after me. He can only be devilishly handsome." He bragged with his charming smile, and it gave me the shiver, like every time.

"Oh, you're gonna be surprised." I replied, trying to hide a laugh.

Killian raised his eyebrows, a bit triggered by our reactions, and I giggled once again. I moved to put my legs above his and placed my head on his shoulder, his left arm wrapped around me. The metallic touch of his hook against my back gave me the shiver once again, and snuggled closer to him. I was feeling very comfortable in this position, and he could feel the baby move if he wanted to. I glanced at Henry, who smiled back at me. I knew he was as impatient as I was to see how Killian was going to react, because it would probably be hilarious.

"You're finally going to know what perms look like." I resumed, wrapping my arms around his chest, referring to one of our discussion we had in Nerveland.

'Come on, it can't be that bad." He protested with half a smile, thinking that we were playing with him.

"Well, we've warned you!" Henry replied with a laugh.

Killian shook his head, more and more puzzled by our words. I grabbed the remote control and finally started the movie. Killian placed his right hand on my stomach just as the baby was starting to move. I sighted slightly. It was going to be a good night.

* * *

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, I was watching Killian nervously pacing in the living-room, and glanced at Henry with a smile. We had just finished the movie, and Hook had obviously thought we were kidding earlier, because he seemed utterly appalled. He was scratching his ear, and his face was tensed, as if he was trying to find something explaining why this movie was so wrong about his story. I leaned forward to take an orange on the coffee table, waiting for him to finally start talking.

"Can somebody tell me what the bloody hell was that?" He finally said theatrically right when I finished to peel the fruit in my hand.

"Peter Pan, the cartoon." Henry answered seriously, and I burst out laughing, before stopping when I saw the betrayed look Killian gave me.

"Why did you show me that?" He asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Because we knew your reaction would be hilarious." I answered, far from being impressed by his look, before putting one quarter of the orange in my mouth.

"But he… He isn't even a pirate… He's a coward, and he's bloody stupid!" He stuttered, finally stopping his pacing to face me.

"I know." I laughed. "But you don't need to look at me that way. It's not my fault, I'm not the one who has made the cartoon."

"And his hand got eaten by a crocodile! A bloody crocodile that makes noises like a clock!" He shouted without really paying attention to my words.

"Tick-Tock. Its name is Tick-Tock. "I corrected, trying to stay serious. "And you know, you're calling Rumplestilskin the Crocodile for years, now, so in a sense, your hand got taken by an animal too…"

"Don't make fun of me, Swan." He grunted in a falsely threatening way, but I knew he wasn't really mad at me.

"I would never..." I answered, looking at him with an innocent smile.

"And Pan, he's… he's nice!"

"I mean, yeah, but you can't be mad because of that." I shrugged. "Everyone interprets the story the way they want to..."

"But he's a villain in reality! He kidnaps children!"

"I of all people should know that." Henry intervened, raising an eyebrow at Killian

I turned my head toward my son, frowning, suddenly a bit worried. I didn't want this evening to have awakened bad memories in him. He had suffered in Neverland, after all, he had almost died and then Pan had pretended to be him to trick us. It wasn't a really good thing to remember. But my son had a huge smile on his face and I understood he was playing along with me to annoy Killian. I smiled and turned my head to look at Hook again and resume my little game.

"So if I understand correctly, Peter is not a potential name for the baby anymore." I said, placing a hand on my stomach as if everything was perfectly normal.

"Peter has never been a potential name!" He replied, completely outraged.

"Come on, Killian, I'm kidding!" I laughed. "It's just a movie, get over it..."

I ate the last bite of my fruit and glanced at Killian, who was still looking at me, in an utterly confused way. I was making fun of him, but I could see he was a bit upset, and I lost my sardonic look to gently smile at him. I could understand his reaction. Knowing that the people of this world where knowing him as a parody while he was absolutely amazing could be hard to swallow. I then resumed gently, deciding that I had mocked him enough and that it was time to comfort him.

"Do you understand why I looked so surprised when I saw you for the first time?"

"Well, if you were expecting _that_ , it's understandable indeed." He sighted, collapsing on the couch next to me.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him to pull him closer to me. I didn't want him to stay upset, it was just a story, and we all knew he was way better than the Captain Hook from the cartoon. He seemed to relax a bit at my touch and I placed my head on his shoulder.

"Come on, babe, smile! Imagine how much better you are than him if I managed to fall in love with you with his memory in my head."

I looked up and kissed him on his cheek to give him his smile back. My try paid off, because he shook his head and gave me a small smile. I stroke his hair with my left hand as he leaned forward to press a quick kiss on my lips.

"Okay, you two." Henry intervened after a few seconds. "You better calm down a bit when the baby will be there."

"What do you mean?" I asked, still cuddled into Killian's arms, who were watching my son with a frown.

"Well, I don't want you to traumatize my baby sibling with your lover things there." He explained in an almost severe way. "You're looking like two teenagers."

"Seriously?" I laughed, surprised by his words. "You're gonna be the overprotective big brother?"

"Well, someone has to make sure you won't scar it for life." He shrugged as if everything was perfectly normal, and I burst out laughing.

"Jesus, this kid is gonna choke between you two." I said, looking at my son and Killian while giggling. Seriously, you can be overprotective for a little while, but if you're always smothering it, it's going to rebel itself sooner or later. And if it's like me, it's not going to be particularly pleasant!"

"Don't try to pretend you won't be overprotective as well." Killian replied, gently stroking my side with a laugh.

"He's right, mom." Henry added. "I can recall how you were when we were in New York. You were scared to let me walk home alone from school, and you were insisting to come and get me every single day."

"Well, it was to keep you in one piece." I defended myself. "And proof is I was right, because you're still here now..."

"Yeah, sure, because walking home in daylight is a lot more dangerous than fighting villains with magical powers." He scoffed, raising his eyebrows at me to show me he was right.

"Okay, point Henry." I admitted with a laugh. "But for my defense, you're the one who always wants to go with us. And it's gonna be way worst for the little one. He will have us, and my parents. Poor kid, it won't be able to breathe."

"Well, I have another mom and she's not less protective than you are." Henry objected.

"You know that Regina and I are like this because we love you and we want you to be safe." I said with a slight smile, trying to explain to my son that even if it could get heavy sometimes, we were doing it for his own good.

"That's what we will tell to the little one when it will protest, then." Killian intervened with a smile before leaning forward to press a kiss on my forehead. "We're doing that because we love it."

I smiled and absent-mindlessly listened to the conversation Killian and Henry were having. I was seriously starting to think that we were looking like an almost ordinary family. Aside from the completely twisted family tree that was linking us all together and the magic we were using casually, we hadn't had to fight a villain for a long while now. Everybody had seemed to resume a normal life, and it was quite relaxing. Well, almost anyway. Zelena hadn't been defeated even if she was stuck in Oz for now, and Gold was still somewhere in town. They could attack us any time, but we were aware of that, and we were all ready for a fight.

Lost in my thoughst, I rubbed my stomach with my thumb, answering to the baby's kicks. Soon, I would have to take care of a little person that would need me more than anything in the world. I had to protect it, as I was trying to protect Henry, and I would have given my life for them. It would be born in a sometimes smothering family, but it would be safe, and loved. I promised to myself I would do anything for it to be happy. It was taking a good start in this life : parents who already loved it so much, a big brother, a huge family. Everything would be okay, it had to be.

* * *

"I can't believe we're going to finally meet it soon." Killian whispered, his hand gently stroking my stomach.

I smiled while playing with his hair. It was very late, now. It was pitch-black outside, and Henry had gone back at Regina's. Killian and I had the house for ourselves. After quite enjoyable activities – my hormones were going crazy lately, and I could almost jump on him sometimes, thing that he seemed to appreciate very much – we had just stayed in bed, talking about nothing in particular, enjoying the other's presence by our side. I was now laying on my side, only wearing a t-shirt and panties, my naked legs under the sheets to keep warm. I had my head in one of my hand to look at Killian with a smile. The scene I was witnessing was absolutely beautiful. He was whispering to the baby while stroking my stomach, and his child was answering by little kicks. That was as if they were talking together, and it was so magical I was feeling tears in my eyes.

"I can't wait ton finally see it." He resumed, looking up to me with a smile.

"I'm excited too." I answered in a whisper.

"Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" He suddenly asked seriously.

"Because you think I can tell?" I scoffed, shaking my head.

"Well, I don't know." He shrugged in a falsely upset way. "It's inside of you, maybe you know."

"I have no idea, Killian." I answered with a little laugh. "But you can try to ask it if you want to. It seems like it's answering you, so you can try."

"Okay," He said, deciding to play along, and I giggled. "You heard your mommy, little love? Are you a boy?"

The baby kicked, and he looked up to meet my gaze with wide eyes. I laughed, guessing that the baby's reaction was probably completely random. Killian looked back sown at my belly and said :

"Okay, then. Are you a girl?"

The baby kicked once again, and I saw Killian's face starting to show a disappointing look.

"Well, that's a bummer." He mumbled while I burst out laughing, finding this way too funny.

"It's okay." I said when I had calmed down. "We will know in a bit. I'm impatient too, but it won't be long, now."

He smiled at me and resumed playing with the baby. How much he was already caring about our child was really touching my heart. He was already loving this little one so much, and it was going to have the best father ever. It was wonderful, I couldn't have been happier.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" He suddenly asked, driving me back to reality. "Is something wrong?"

"No, don't worry, babe." I answered, running my hand through his hair. "I was just thinking about how great of a dad you're gonna be."

He smiled, looking touched by my words, and moved to face me. He gently cupped my face and looked at me as if I was the eighth wonder of the world before leaning forward to kiss me gently.

"I cant' believe we're going to have a child together." He sighted against my lips. "I can't believe you've managed to see beyond the pretentious, broken man I was. You did everything for me, and I love you so much. You're absolutely amazing, Emma Swan, I hope you know that."

"You're the one who's managed to break my walls." I answered, my eyes closed and enjoying the warm feeling of his skin against mine. "you never gave up. You always manage to bring out the best in me. And I'm not amazing. We're amazing together.

He laughed and pulled away for a second to look at me carefully. I stared into his beautiful clear blue eyes, my hand in his hair, his on my hips. And then, as if he wasn't able to stay away from me anymore, he pulled me closer to start kissing me breathlessly, his hand making its way under my shirt.

* * *

 **I can't believe there's only two chapters left before the end of this fic! Thanks for all the support, and I hope I'll see you all for the second tome (it's basically the same baseline except there is a crisis in the town this time)**

 **Merry Christmas to you all in advance! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to oncer4life11, EF22, Emilee Amethyst and tanxuans for te reviews! **

* * *

Standing right in the middle of the little room that had been transformed into a nursery, my hands on my hips, I was looking around me to finally see what the room was looking like now that it was finished. I obviously hadn't been allowed to help with the works because I still had to stay off my feet, but my parents and Henry had come to help Killian creating the little nest that was going to welcome our baby. My family had gone a few minutes ago, after hours spending in the new nursery. After weeks of labor, I couldn't believe that the room was finally finished, and I was really happy to see it was such a beautiful little place for our child to grow up in.

As we didn't know the gender of the baby, the wall had been painted in pastel colors, and it was really looking quiet and peaceful. A crib was standing in the middle of the room, and a module with animals sculpted into crystal was hanging above the little bed. It was calling back to the module I had above my own crib in the Enchanted Forest, even if I had never had the chance to enjoy this little toy. It was my mom who had chosen it, and she had given it to me earlier this day. It had really moved me, and she herself had to hold back a few tears. In a somewhat shaky voice, she had told me she was loving me so much, and that she would be there for me for anything. I had realized that even if I had had to grow up without the love of my parents, this child would be so loved, and it wouldn't know what it was like to feel unsafe and unimportant. It had filled me with so much happiness I had burst out crying, and Killian had had to take me into his arms for me to finally calm down.

A rocking-chair was laying in the corner of the room, a set of drawers in another one, filled with little baby clothes that Killian and I had chosen carefully, trying to guess if the baby was a boy or a girl while laughing right in the middle of the shop. Toys and fluffed animals had been put everywhere, giving a cozy ambiance to the nursery.

We were finally ready for the baby to come.

I suddenly heard noises coming from the stairs, and recognized Killian's steps without having to turn back. I smiled as his arms wrapped around me to land on my rounded-out stomach. He kissed me on the back of the neck, giving me the shiver, and I turned my head to press a light kiss on his cheek. We were so happy, it was hard to believe. Two orphans finally having a family together. What was happening was beyond all of my dreams.

"You all right?" He gently whispered in my ear as I leaned against his chest to be a little bit closer to him. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." I answered, my left hand covering his on my stomach, my right one on his shoulder.

"Me too. Our baby is going to have the most beautiful room ever."

He gently pulled away from me to go and walk toward the crib, his hand landing on the wood frame, his back turned to me. He seemed to think for a second, and his voice was filled with joy as he gestured toward one of the wall :

"Do you think we can write its name there when it will be born? I think it can make the room even warmer."

I opened my mouth to tell him that it was a perfect idea, but a sudden and acute pain in my lower stomach shut me up. It was so surprising I couldn't say anything, and I bent over, both of my hands glued to my stomach as if I was trying to stop the pain. I moved back to lean on the closest wall, trying to find my balance again, my breathing heavy from the pain. I tried to take three deep breaths to calm myself down, and the ache went away as fast as it had come.

"Emma?" Killian insisted, probably puzzled because of my silence.

I answered with a little grunt, finally realizing what it meant and that I was going into labor. I got dizzy, and didn't know how to talk to Killian, because I couldn't think straight anymore. Hook turned back, and immediately rushed over me with great worry in his eyes, guessing that something was wrong. He put his hook on my stomach and his hand on my shoulder, saying in a somewhat shaky voice :

"What's wrong, love? Is it the baby?"

"I'm okay." I finally said in a muffled voice, trying to comfort him because he was looking really worried. "It's just… I think the baby is coming."

I saw his eyes widened, and couldn't help but smile as his hand was squeezing my shoulder. His breathing started to get quicker, and his lips parted, as he was looking a bit panicked by the situation. Even if we knew the baby would come soon, it was making things so real now. We were going to raise a child together. We were going to meet it really soon. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

"Okay" He stuttered, trying to show me that he knew what he had to do even if I could see he was a bit disoriented. "It's gonna be okay. You want me to call an ambulance? Your parents, maybe?"

"Call my dad, he shouldn't be far." I said with a small smile, trying to reassure him even if I was as panicked as he was.

"All right, darling. Sit down, okay? You can't make any efforts right now." He nervously said, carefully driving me toward the rocking chair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I answered as he squatted in front of me to put his hand on my knee. "The next contraction shouldn't be there for another few minutes..."

"Emma, we're going to have a baby!" He finally shouted, looking overexcited as if he was learning the news for the first time.

I laughed at his reaction, but another contraction cut me off, and I whimpered as he was gently cupping my face to comfort me.

"Okay, it's coming faster than expected." I said when the pain had gone away.

"I'm calling your parents" Killian decided, getting up to take the phone that was laying in his pocket.

My hands on my belly, I was trying to chase away the panic attack that was coming. I was suddenly so scared, and Killian leaned forward to press a kiss on my forehead and comfort me. I weakly smiled and he took my hand while he was calling my father. I had to stay calm. Everything would be okay.

* * *

I collapsed on the pillows covering my hospital bed, taking some deep breaths while I had the possibility to do so. I was trying to enjoy the quiet moment I was living, but the thought of the new contraction that was going to come really soon was giving me the shiver. Killian looked at me with worry in his eyes, and he gently rubbed my hand with his thumb, trying to comfort me a bit. I could see he was a bit disoriented by all that was happening, but he mostly seemed nervous, and I knew it was because it was driving him crazy to see me suffer while he couldn't do anything to help me. It had been three hours since I had arrived at the hospital, and I would have liked for all of this to be over soon, because it was really exhausting, and I wasn't sure I could bear the pain for much longer.

"I would like the baby to hurry up a bit." I panted, brushing my hair behind my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Killian asked gently.

"I've lived better moments." I grunted, still trying to breathe a bit slower.

"Do you want something?" He offered, looking concerned. "Do you want some water? Or do you want me to call Whale?"

"That's sweet, Killian" I said, offering him a small smile because feeling him next to me was a big deal for me, as I had given birth to Henry with no one by my side. "I'm fine."

He drove my hand to his lips to give me a small kiss. He didn't know what to do to make me feel better, I could see he was so mad because I was giving birth to our child, and he would have done anything to suffer instead of me. I intertwined our fingers together to give me strength. I was going to meet my baby soon. I had to hold on.

"It's not going to be much longer now." He encouraged me. "You're doing great. You're the bravest person I've ever met."

I smiled, wanting to tell him that I didn't really have a choice, but I felt another contraction coming my way. I closed my eyes and squeezed Killian's hand, trying to prepare myself for the pain.

* * *

 _Sweat is streaming down my temple. My hair is completely drenched. I'm dizzy because of the pain and all the efforts I have to make. Killian is holding my right hand, and I can hear several voices encouraging me, even if they all seem a bit distorted._

 _I have to make it, I can do it._

 _"I can see the head, Emma. You're almost there, come on!"_

 _"You can do it, baby. You're doing great." Killian whispers next to my head._

 _I obey. I'm not sure I can do it anymore._

 _And then, finally, the relief._

 _There is quiet for an endless second._

 _Then the first cry of a baby._

 _Our baby._

 _I turn to see Killian. He's smiling, exhilarated. Tears of joy are streaming down his beautiful face._

 _We are parents._

 _"It's a boy!" Whale announces with a huge smile._

 _He cuts the umbilical cords, wraps the baby in a blanket and puts him in my arms._

 _Tears of happiness form in my eyes. I literally feels an explosion of joy in my chest._

 _A boy_

 _My baby._

 _I already love him so much while he's only a few seconds old._

 _"Hey, you." I say in a muffled voice, gently running my finger against his little cheek._

 _He stares at me. I'm so scared to do something bad and to hurt him. Killian is leaning over my shoulder, and looks at our son as if he was the eighth wonder of the world._

 _Which he is._

 _He's gorgeous._

 _Soon after that, way too soon, a nurse comes to take him away from my arms and take care of him._

 _I look at him disappear with great sadness. I could have spent hours looking at him._

 _"Don't worry, Emma. We're bringing him back really soon."_

 _Killian approaches me to press a kiss on my lips._

 _Hot tears are streaming down my face._

 _"I love you" I whisper against his lips._

* * *

The light entering the room by the big window woke me up. I blinked several times to try and clear up my head. I looked around me to finally see Killian, who was standing above the crib where our baby was sleeping, looking at him with a gentle smile.

He had not looked away once since he had been born a day earlier.

"Hey." I started, leaning against the headboard to sit cross-legged on the bed.

"Hey." He answered with a smile, approaching me to sit next to me on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." I sighted before laughing a little bit. "But I think we have to get used to that. My parents said they would come today, right?"

Everything that had happened in the hours following the birth of our son was a bit foggy in my mind. I had had too many emotions all at once, to much joy, happiness, but also exhaustion, and I couldn't recall a lot of things from the visit my parents had given us a few hours after the birth. Killian nodded with a smile. He seemed so happy to be a father. He hadn't stopped smiling since he had met our son. He was so in love with him, he was already the greatest dad ever.

The baby started to moan in his crib, and before either of us could do anything, the whimpers transformed into cries. I winced : hearing him cry was so painful, even if I knew I had to get used to it. Killian immediately got up to take him into his arms. The baby stopped crying in a matter of seconds, comforted by the warm of his father's arms, and I smiled seeing them so close already.

"We have to find a name for the little one, don't you think?" Killian asked, staring at our son with pure love in his eyes.

I nodded and moved to take the baby against me. He had fallen asleep again, and I pulled him closer to my chest, looking at him for a few seconds before answering. He was so beautiful, it was hard to look away from him.

"I actually have an idea for a boy name for a little while, now..." I confessed, looking up with a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Great." He answered with a smile. "Go for it, love. As long as you don't say Peter, I'm ready to hear you."

I laughed at his joke, remembering the perfect evening we had spent together not so long ago, but I quite quickly regained seriousness. I hesitated for a few seconds, a bit afraid about the fact my proposition would not make him happy. But he smiled at me to encourage me, and I finally said in a low voice :

"I was actually thinking about naming him Liam..."

Killian didn't answer right away, and his expression changed even if I couldn't see if he was upset or not. I was so scared to have hurt him that I felt my heart starting to pound loudly in my chest. I said quickly as if I was trying to redeem myself :

"It was just an idea, you know, you don't have to like it… I'm sorry, babe, I didn't mean to upset you..."

"You didn't upset me at all, Emma." He finally said in a comforting tone, gently petting our son's cheek. "I'm just surprised. But… I think it's beautiful. I really like it."

"Really?" I asked in relief.

"My brother would have loved this gesture. It's a really beautiful tribute. Thanks, Swan." He said with a somewhat sad smile.

I smiled back and leaned forward to gently kiss him, trying to erase his sadness. I carefully handed him our son so he could take him in his arms, and the baby opened his eyes to look at his father.

"We have to ask his opinion, he's the boss after all." Killian said, and I giggled. "Liam, do you like it?"

The baby let go of a sound, and we both laughed at our son's reaction.

"It looks like he loves it." I said, feeling a little pinch in my chest from the happiness I was experiencing.

"So Liam it will be." Killian stated. "Do you want to tell his name to your family right away, or do you want to tell the all town all at once?"

"Mmmm." I thought for a second. "You know what? My parents made me wait for Neal, so I think I'm going to do the same thing now."

"It seems fair." Killian said with a chuckle.

I smiled at him and put my head on his shoulder to look at our son more easily, wrapping my arms around his stomach to hold him close to me.

"He's so beautiful" I whispered, still amazed by how stunning this little baby was looking.

"It's normal, I mean we are his parents, and we are really hot." Killian said as if everything was perfectly normal, and I burst out laughing.

We stayed there for a long time, just looking at our son. This baby was going to be so loved. The years that were coming were going to be beautiful.

* * *

"So, guys, have you chosen a name yet.?" My mom asked.

She was holding Liam in her arms. I looked away from the adorable teddy bear she had given our son to smile at her, before glancing at Killian, who was trying to hide his laugh.

"Yeah, we have." I simply answered.

"And?" Henry insisted, sitting on my bed next to me.

"And you'll have to wait." I shrugged.

"What? Why?" My dad asked, looking completely distraught by my answer.

"Because you've done the exact same thing when Neal was born!" I burst out laughing, enjoying this situation way too much.

"It's her revenge." Killian added, laughing as well.

"But mom!" Henry cried out, looking absolutely outraged. "You can't hide that kind of things from your own son!"

"Try me." I said, playfully fluffing his hair.

"Come on, Emma." My mom said with a little pout. "we really wanna know."

I sighted, feeling my idea starting to fade as I saw the eagerness of my family. I really wanted to tell them everything now, I was curious to know what they were thinking about it. I looked at Killian to quietly ask him what he was thinking about all of this, and he nodded, showing me that he was agreeing with me whatever I was choosing.

"Okay, then." I surrendered with a smile. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone, we want to announce the name to everyone at the same time. We just want him to be introduced to the town as the little prince he is."

"Great." Henry bragged, and that made me laugh. "I knew you couldn't resist me. So, what is it?"

I stared right into Killian's eyes for several seconds before answering. He walked toward me and sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around me to pull me closer to him. I finally said as he was pressing a kiss on my temple.

"Liam. His name is Liam."

"He's named after…?" My mom started, looking deeply moved by this surprising declaration.

"Yes, after my brother." Hook confirmed in a low voice, and I wrapped both my arms around him to comfort him, because I knew how painful his brother's death was for him.

"We thought it was a great tribute." I explained with a little smile.

"It is." My mom said, looking down at the baby in her arms. "I love it. It's beautiful.

I smiled and snuggled closer to Killian, who gently ran his fingers up and down my spine.

"Welcome to the finally, Liam." My mom gently whispered.

The baby sighted in his sleep.

* * *

 **Can't believe there is only the epilogue left! See you Friday for the last chapter of this fic - and hopefully for the first chapter of the second volume that is going to be published next Monday!**


	17. Chapter 17

**And here we are, the last chapter of this fiction! I'm a bit sad it's already over, but the sequel will be online by monday, I'll write a little summary at the end of this chapter! Thanks again for all the support and a special thanks to oncerf4life11, Emilee Amethyst and EF22 for their reviews! Hope you'll like the last chapter!**

* * *

"Swan… Wake up, love, it's time..."

I was feeling someone gently shaking my shoulder, and grunted, not wanting to give up on my sleep. I felt someone pressing a light kiss on my lips with a little laugh, and finally opened one of my eyes to see Killian, squatted in front of me, a little smile on his face. He gently stroke my leg to help me wake up, and I blinked several times. I needed a few seconds to remember what I was doing there. I massaged my neck, which was painful because of the weird position I had taken to sleep.

"You're really tired to fall asleep like that, aren't you?" Killian said, looking a bit amused.

I could remember that I had rocked Liam until he had finally fallen asleep, and after I had carefully laid him in his crib, I had sat on the rocking-chair to rest a bit, one of my son's teddy bear in my arms. I had probably fallen asleep without realizing it. It was not that surprising after all, I had barely slept a few hours since Liam's birth two weeks ago. Our son was not a good sleeper, it was the least we could say, and we were absolutely exhausted. Even if I was feeling like I could collapse sometimes, it was all worth it. Holding my son in my arms was so magical that I was instantly forgiving him for all the sleep deprivation.

"Mmm" I grunted, running my hand in my hair while Killian was laughing a bit. "Don't you dare mock me, you're as tired as I am."

"I'm not mocking you, Swan." He gently defended himself. "We're in this together, you found me in that position several times as well."

I smiled, recalling how cute he was looking when I had found him laying on the couch, eyes closed and lips parted. He was looking like a little boy, his hair fluffed, and I had put a blanket over him to keep him warm, watching him sleep with a smile on my face.

A huge yawn drove me away from this memory, and I rubbed my eyes to try to stay awake with a pout. I was feeling like I could fall asleep if I was just closing my eyes for a second.

"Aww, darling." He said in a low voice, seeing how tired I was, before leaning forward to press a kiss on my hand. "I'm so sorry to wake you up, I know you're exhausted. But I've let you sleep the longer I could, we can't be late. We're the guests of honor after all."

"Liam is." I corrected, before looking at my watch and wincing because we were definitely already late.

We had been so busy since Liam's birth, between all the changes we had had to make in our lives to welcome our son, that we still hadn't had the time to gather everyone and introduce the baby to the town. My parents had finally decided it was time, and had chosen this evening without really giving us a choice. I knew their were right, we had to finally introduce Liam to everyone. If it wasn't for the thought of dozens of people waiting for us at Granny's, I would have stayed home. I was exhausted, and really anxious about this party. It was the first time Liam was leaving the house for so long. Sure, he was going out of the house for a few minutes everyday, but I didn't like the fact he would be far from everything for several hours. My parents were usually coming to our place to visit their grandson so we didn't have to leave the house, and I was really scared. I was imagining so many scenarios. He could get sick, or be too cold, or cry all night, or be scared of the crowd… It was actually really ironic that I was mocking Hook before the birth saying he would be overprotective, because I was the one who was struggling to let him be right now.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" I said in a high-pitched voice, biting my lower lips.

"Oh, come on, love." Killian gently said while shaking his head. "We've already talked about this. Everything will be all right, you have nothing to worry about, I assure you. And I already told you, you can't keep him here forever. You'll have to let him out eventually."

"I let him out everyday." I objected with a little pout, and he laughed at my reaction. "I'm just scared something bad will happen..."

"I know love, but it will be alright, I promise. How much time do you think you can keep him close to you?" He added with a little smirk.

"At least a few years." I admitted with a wince

"Look, I understand, I'm a bit nervous as well." He tried to comfort me. "But we have to introduce him to our friends. He deserves to be properly introduced to everyone, don't you think?"

I nodded, knowing that he was right. Liam started to whimper right after Killian had finished his sentence, and I immediately got up to take him into my arms, trying to avoid his tears. But the little moans quickly transformed into cries, and Killian approached us to try and calm our son down as well.

"Hey there, I'm here, sweetheart." I whispered, rocking him against my chest. "It's okay. What's happening?"

He was usually calming down as soon as I was taking him against me, but this time, it wasn't the case. I knew it was probably because of a perfectly good reason, but I couldn't help and think it was a sign for us not to go.

"Maybe he needs to be changed." I guessed, still trying to calm my baby down as his cries were breaking my heart.

"I'll do it." Killian offered, gently taking Liam from my arms. "Go get dressed."

I sighted, and looked down at my outfit with a wince. I was wearing jeans and an old sweat-shirt to hide the curves that were still there from the pregnancy. It was normal, I couldn't lose all the extra-weight in two weeks, and I was lucky because it could have been worse, but my new roundness was difficult to accept for me. I had always been really thin, and it hadn't been a problem after I had given birth to Henry, I had become skinny all at once again. Here, it was different. My waist seemed rounder, my stomach was not as flat as before, and I felt like my thighs were twice as big as it used to be. So I was trying to hide all these things under baggy clothes until I had lost weight, but I really couldn't go out like that.

"Come on, darling, don't make our friends wait for much longer. They are all here for us, we have to be there as soon as we can." Killian gently encouraged me.

I sighted. He was right. He smiled at me and kissed my temple before I left the room, and I heard him telling our son :

"Your mommy is really too anxious. She doesn't want to let you out, can you imagine?"

"Hey! I heard you!" I cried out

Killian's laughter escorted me until I reached the bathroom.

* * *

"Okay then." I sighted after taking a shower and getting dressed, entering the nursery to join Killian. "We can't forget anything, it's important. I think his bottle his already in the bag. Do we have diapers? We can't forget his teddy and his pacifier either, maybe we should get others in case he loses this one? Aww, he fell back asleep." I added, leaning above the crib to see that Liam was peacefully sleeping.

"Calm down, and come here." Killian said with a laugh.

I obeyed, wondering why he was smiling at me like that. He wrapped his arms around my waist and looked at me for a few seconds before kissing me breathlessly.

"You're absolutely gorgeous, Swan." He said after pulling away, gently running his hand up and down my spine.

"Come on, I'm far from being pretty." I protested, feeling myself blush a little because even if I was feeling really bad about my body, he was always comforting me and telling me I was beautiful.

"Let me look at you." He said, making me spin on myself and I giggled. "Yeah, that's what I was saying. Absolutely gorgeous."

I shrugged, far from being convinced. I had huge bags under my eyes because of my lack of sleep, and I had tried to hide my curves under a wide red blouse and not too skinny jeans. But I could see by the way he was looking at me that he wasn't telling that to please me and that he was actually thinking it, because lust was shinning in his eyes. I smiled and pulled him closer to me to bury my face in his neck.

"Thanks" I whispered as he was kissing my shoulder.

"So, are you ready to go?" He asked, pulling away to look at me in the eyes.

"I don't wanna go." I pouted, putting my head on his shoulder as he was laughing a bit.

"I know, baby, I know" He said, gently stroking my back." But we have to."

"But Liam fell asleep again..." I tried to convince him, and he raised an eyebrow at me to show me he wasn't going to change his mind.

"He won't wake up." He gently assured. "but we really have to go now, or we will be very late. You're going to have fun, you'll see."

'Or I will fall asleep in the middle of the diner." I mumbled as he was stepping away from me to carefully take our sleepy baby into his arms.

He didn't wake up, and I put on his little coat and his beanie so he wouldn't get sick. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest, and I was feeling really anxious now. I didn't want to see all this crowd, I just wanted to stay home with Killian, Henry and the baby. Hook saw how scared I was, and gently leaned forward to kiss my forehead.

"I promise you it's gonna be okay." He whispered with a smile.

I nodded, deciding to trust him because he would never lie to me, and we finally headed for the door to introduce our little prince to the entire town.

* * *

Killian opened the door of the diner, and made me enter first with a gentle smile. I was carrying Liam, who was sleeping in his little crib, but it would probably not last because of the noisy crowd standing inside of the diner. I tensed up a bit, hoping that my son wouldn't start to cry, and Killian saw my nervousness. He put his hand on the small of my back to comfort me, and I sighted to relax before smiling to our friends, who were looking at us with big smiles and their faces. A few of them, my parents and my son approached us to greet us, and say hi to the little one.

"He's beautiful." Belle said in a low voice, leaning to look at Liam.

I nodded with a smile, myself staring at my son. It was difficult for me to look away from him. He was so perfect. His little hands, his big green eyes, the little faces he was doing when he had eaten and he was happy. I was so in love with this little guy.

"Come, sit with us." My mom offered, dragging us toward one of the booth.

I followed her through the crowd, waving at some of my friends, and finally settled on the seats that my mom were showing to me. I put the crib on the table just in front of me,placing my hand on the baby's stomach to make sure he was all right. He was still sleeping peacefully, and I started to think that I was worrying for nothing. Killian settled next to me, his arm on the chair back, and Henry and my parents sat in front of us. My mom immediately started talking with a big smile, looking very happy to have us here with everyone.

"So, how is the little prince?"

"He's more than fine." Hook said, staring at Liam with a little smile. "He doesn't let us sleep a lot, but we forgive him."

"Are you okay, there?" My dad said with an amused smile. "you seem really tired."

"We are." I answered with a little laugh while Killian was wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "But we've survived worse. And he's such an angel..."

"… When he isn't crying." Killian added, and that made us all laugh.

"He's adorable." My dad said, looking at his grandson with a gentle smile.

The entire family was absolutely in love with Liam. My parents were so happy to have another grandson, and Henry was already such a responsible big brother. I opened my mouth to answer that he was a real little angel, but our son opened his eyes and started looking around him. I didn't wait any longer to take him into my arms, trying to prevent him from starting crying. He let out of a little scream, and I laughed, taking his little hand in mine and saying gently :

"You're not going to cry, right, sweetheart? You want to make a good first impression, don't you?"

"Woah, Emma, it looks like you've done that your entire life." My mom said with a look that was clearly meaning _I told you so_

"Can I hold him?" Henry asked with a smile.

"Of course, kid." I answered as Killian was getting up to let me join my son and put his baby brother in his arms. "Just be careful to hold his head..."

"Come on, mom, you've already told me that a thousand times!" He cried out, looking completely annoyed by my recommendation and carefully holding his brother against him. "It's like you don't even trust me."

"Of course I trust you!" I defended myself, understanding that maybe I was a little overprotective with the baby. "I'm sorry kid. I know you're doing great with your brother."

He smiled to show me he didn't hold grudges, and Liam didn't move, not looking disoriented at all by the fact it was his big brother that was now holding him. Seeing Henry staring at Liam with so much love in his eyes, I tried to discreetly get the phone out of my pocket to take a picture and immortalize the moment. But Henry seemed to notice what I was doing, because he looked up to me and said with a frown :

"What are you doing?"

"Do you think I would miss this occasion to have both of my sons on the same pictures?" I answered with a little laugh. "Just do as if I wasn't there..."

"Well, it's going to be complicated, now." he mumbled while my parents were bursting out laughing.

I chose to ignore my son's comment and took several pictures before sitting next to Killian and showing him the beautiful photographs I had just taken. He smiled, seeing Henry so sweet with his baby brother, and I said as a provocation :

"It's going to go on the fridge"

"Mom!" Henry cried out, looking absolutely outraged.

"I'm with the lad on that, Swan." Killian laughed. "What would you say if I took a picture of you right now and put it on the fridge?

"I would scream." I answered without really thinking about what I was saying, horrified by his words as he was laughing out loud. "Not while I'm like this."

"Like what, Swan?" He sighted, wrapping his arm around my shoulder to pull me closer to him. "Come on, you're stunning. Ask your parents if you don't believe me. Emma doesn't like the way she looks." he informed them, and I winced, knowing all too well what they were going to say.

"What?!" My mom cried out, and I wrapped my arms around Killian to shyly bury my head in the crook of his neck as he was gently stroking my back. "But honey, you look beautiful."

I shook my head, not wanting to listen to my mom because I knew she was only saying that because she was family. Killian embraced me tightly and pressed a kiss on my temple. As my mom was still protesting, Liam suddenly let out of a scream in the arm of his brother, and it made everyone laugh. Killian was still holding me tight and whispered in my ears :

"See? If you don't want to believe your parents or me, at least believe your son. He has the most beautiful mom ever."

I smiled despite my doubts and looked up to kiss his cheek, quietly thanking him for all his support. He was really seeing me as the most beautiful thing in the world, and even if I knew it was because he was in love with me and his opinion wasn't unbiased, it was making me feel so much better about myself.

* * *

"Can you watch Liam for a bit? I'll be right back." I whispered into Killian's ear.

He frowned and I smiled to reassure him, pulling away from his embrace to get up and walk toward the restroom. I was stopped several times by friends who wantend to congratulate me before finally reaching my goal, and I crossed the door with a little sight of relief. I approached the mirror, trying to avoid my reflexion at first, and took some deep breaths to calm my heart that was painfully pounding in my chest. I had needed to be alone for a little bit. Too much noise, too many congratulations, too many people, too much of everything. I was really happy to be there, sure, but I was feeling very anxious. Liam had been in everyone's arms, and despite the fact I knew my friends were careful, I was scared of someone hurting him. Unlike me, the baby didn't seem to care a bit. He had barely cried all evening, and was staring at each new face with his beautiful eyes. I knew I was going to feel much better when I would finally go home, Liam safe in my arms.

I finally looked up to look at myself, and winced a little bit, not too happy by what I was seeing. I was really pale, and I tried not to look down at my body. I brushed my hair behind my shoulders and put a little bit of water on my face to clear up my head. Killian was right, I had to stop worrying for a bit. I couldn't be that anxious every time my son was going out, or my life would be a living hell because he was going to grow, and he would start walking, and go to school, and I just had to stop being scared all the time. I stayed for a few more minutes into the room, trying to calm down and deciding that I really had to relax, before going out and join my friends again.

"Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked behind my back as I was walking to go into the main room.

I turned back, a bit surprised to discover that Killian had come to join me. He was staring at me, an eyebrow raised, looking a bit worried. I hadn't noticed his presence before, and forced myself to smile in order not to worry him.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"It wasn't a real question, love. I know when you're not feeling really well, you know."

His words finally made me lose my falsely assured smile, and I felt tears forming in my eyes. It was too much, and even if I was happy to be there, the stress and the hormones that were still driving me crazy sometimes were giving me a hard time. Killian's face changed and his lips parted as he was looking deeply hurt by my distress. He approached me and embraced me with great gentleness, kissing my head as I was still trying to hold back my tears, my head against his shoulder.

"Hey there." he whispered in my ear, as his arms were actually managing to calm me down a bit. "It's okay, baby, don't cry."

"I'm sorry." I said in a muffled voice. "I don't know what's happening. I'm having a good time it's just… I'm scared."

"Don't apologize, sweetheart, it's okay." He said, pulling away a bit to look at me carefully and make sure I was all right.

"Where is Liam?" I asked, with a little sniff as he gently cupped my cheek.

"With your parents. Don't worry about him, love, he couldn't be in better hands."

He smiled at me and, his left arm wrapped around me, he took something from his jacket with his hand. He got his flask out and gave it to me, as I was looking at him with a little frown, perplexed.

"Come on. You need it." He encouraged me, and that made me laugh a bit.

"Killian, we're supposed to take care of a baby. I can't drink alcohol."

"I'm not asking you to get drunk." He corrected with an amused smile. "Just to drink a sip. You need to stop worrying, darling, and it can help you. You deserve to spend a good evening. And believe me, everyone is taking real good care of Liam. You don't have to worry." He added, seeing my skeptic look.

I ended up nodding after hesitating for a couple of seconds, knowing that he was right and that it was probably going to make me feel better. I took the flask and drank three big sips of the rum. The alcohol burnt my throat, and I gave him his flask back with a little wince. After nine months without drinking a bit of it, I wasn't used to the warm sensation the alcohol was providing anymore.

"I'm not going to lie, I actually missed this." I confessed with a little smile, finally feeling a bit better.

"I've already told you, Swan : I always knew there was a little pirate in you. You ready to go?" He asked as I was laughing a little bit.

"Ready." I nodded with a smile, before stopping him to quickly say. "And thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, beautiful." he answered, and I smiled before putting myself on my tip toe to kiss him on the lips.

Since he knew I wasn't comfortable with my look, he was actually calling me like that several times a day, and I was finding that adorable. He just wanted to show me how gorgeous he thought I was. He was so sweet all the time. I couldn't believe I was actually starting a family with this adorable, amazing, wonderful guy.

He took my hand to drag me toward the main room, and we joined my parents. Killian put his arms on the chair back so I could get closer to him, and he kissed the top of my head as I smiled, finally a bit more relaxed. My dad started talking, staring at Liam who was crying in his arms.

"Right, Emma, maybe you can help me. He won't stop crying, I tried to rock him, but it didn't work."

"Give him to me, he must be hungry." I said, taking my son against my chest.

Recognizing my familiar touch, he immediately stopped crying as I was telling him he was going to eat very soon. Killian took the bottle that was in the bag we had taken with us to give it to me with a smile. Taking care of a little baby was a real team job, and we were really doing fine given the fact it was our first time. We were supporting each other, never getting annoyed by the other's mistakes or break down. Liam closed his eyes as I was feeding him, looking absolutely peaceful.

"It's amazing how he stops crying every time you take him." My mom said, looking at us in awe.

"Well, don't fool yourself." I objected with a little laugh. "It's not me, he just knows he's going to eat when I take him in my arms."

"Come on, Swan, you know it's not true." Killian answered, looking at our son from behind my shoulder. "Whatever he needs, he calms down every time you take him against you."

I smiled. It was true. A real bound was already forming against my son and me, as if he was already recognizing me and he knew I was going to take care of him. I turned my head to look at Killian and answered :

"Well, you're not bad yourself."

"Yeah, Hook, it's your first time." My dad added, raising his eyebrow at Killian. "Everything is going fine?"

'"I was a bit scared about hurting him with my hook at first, but now everything is more than okay." He said, still carefully looking at out son. "It's a bit weird, though. Isn't this crazy to love someone you only know for a few days so much?"

"I don't think it's crazy." I shrugged, looking up to meet Henry's gaze. "I've loved you since the moment I saw you, and giving you up for adoption was one of the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. Not a day has gone by without me not thinking of you for ten years."

My son smiled, and I could see at his shinning eyes that he was moved by my words. A soft quiet filled our table before my dad started talking again with a mischievous smile :

"Beside, this kid is a bit special."

"What do you mean?" I asked not understanding why he was saying that.

"He's the product of the true love of a princess and a pirate. We had never seen that anywhere, believe me!"

I laughed and turned my head to look at Killian before pressing a light kiss on his lips. We had everything to be the prefect family. We loved each other so much. I knew we were going to know happiness, all of us. Liam was lucky. He was surrounded by so many people who loved him, he had every chances to be a happy and well-rounded. My heart started to pound faster in my chest at this thought. He was going to be loved, he already was. And after all this years, I was finally knowing what it was like to be surrounded by people who cared about me.

* * *

"So, guys, don't you think it's time to introduce the little one?"

The party was going to end soon. I had had a lot of fun, probably because of the alcohol I had drunk earlier that had helped me to stop worrying and had actually relaxed me a bit. Killian was holding Liam in his arms, and our son was peacefully sleeping, ignoring the noises of the conversation. He had been so adorable all evening, and everything had gone fine. I had really worried for nothing at all. Seeing how Granny, who had asked me the question, was looking eager to finally know, I understood it was time to tell the people of Storybrooke how we had named our baby. I turned to see what Killian was thinking about that, and he nodded with a smile, showing me he knew it was the right time. I smiled back before turning to look at my friends, who had stopped their conversations to look at us after hearing Granny's question.

"Very well."

Everybody smiled, impatient to finally know. I enjoyed the quiet moment to glance at my son. He was looking so peaceful. I finally looked up and said in a gentle voice :

"It's with great pleasure that we introduce you to… Prince Liam Swan-Jones."

It was a bit weird to use this title with my son's name, but I knew it was going to please my parents. I couldn't really believe that Henry, Liam, Neal and I were from a royal family, but it was actually really suiting my sons. The quiet filled the room for a couple of seconds before being broken by some whispers, my friends finally realizing where our idea was coming from.

"That's a beautiful name." Belle said with a smile.

I turned to look at my family. I saw Henry that was smiling at me with pure happiness in his eyes, and my heart skipped a beat when I realized how many people were caring about me, me the little girl who had spent so much time all alone. Then I looked at Killian, I lost myself into his beautiful clear blue eyes. We had lived so many things together, we had defeated death, and we had discovered we were True Loves. And now we had a baby together, a little boy we had to take care of and that we were already loving so damn much. I touched our son's hand, and his little fingers squeezed mine.

We were finally going to be happy.

* * *

 **and that's how we finish this story!**

 **As promised, here's the summary of the sequel. As I said it's basically the same basis except this time, Emma and Killian have to face a crisis :**

 _Everything seems perfect in Emma and Killian's life. They are madly in love with each other and their 2-year-old son, Liam, is a little angel. But things are actually a lot more complicated than that. While a new crisis is disturbing the town and the new people's presence is a bit mysterious, Emma has to face violent and horrible sicknesses..._

 **I'll post a note here when I'll publish this story! Once again, thank you so, so much for the support. I really liked writing this fic, and I hope you'll like the sequel as much as this one!**


	18. Chapter 18 :About the sequel

**Hi guys! As promised, I'm writing this little message to warn you about the publication of the sequel. It's called "Again?" and you can find it on my profile. For those who will read it, I hope you'll like it! :)**


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